Shinderella
by ladyknights104
Summary: Ever since Stephen's mother died from a deadly sickness his guardian, Paul Heyman, has forced him to work without a promise of a brighter future. But when he meets a guy named John at the bar he works nights at he finds himself tumbling through his own Cinderella story. Cenamus Slash don't like don't read. AU
1. A chance meeting

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! This is something I thought up while I was at my mom's house. Now seeing how I think the whole "falling in love just in one dance" is bullshit I will make some changes to our little story...in other words it's like a crossover with Cinderella but it makes a hell of a lot more sense. You can guess the roles ;). Now I'm unsure how I will label this story but I'll cross that river when I come to it. Oh and PS even though Sheamus is like 35 I made him 32 in this story, just a heads up. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: A chance meeting

Stephen grumbled when he felt sunlight hit his face. He slung an arm over his eyes to block the light from his vision, but soon moved it away when he remembered that he had to get up. Slowly, Stephen sat up on his bed and stretched his arms out. He heard a small chirping sound coming from his opened window and looked over to see a small blue bird perching itself on the windowsill. He smiled and slipped out of bed, not caring that he was clad in his boxers, and walked over to the window. He knelled down and rested his arms and head on the windowsill, reaching a finger out to stroke the bird's soft feathers.

"Good mornin' to you fella, I assume that you had a good nights rest?"

The bird chirped happily, which Stephen assumed to be a yes.

"Well good for you. I slept fine I guess, you know...for sleeping on a lumpy mattress in the attic. But after all these years I suppose that I'm used to it."

Yes, Stephen's room was in the attic. It wasn't very big so it was kinda cramped. But his guardian Paul Heyman didn't want him sleeping near his step-siblings downstairs so he had been forced to move up here after his mother died. Oh how he missed her greatly. When he was about 6 years of age she had come into contact with a deadly disease that his father had and died from when he was 2 years old which took her life as well in a mere month. In her will she had requested that her 2nd husband, Paul Heyman, take care of Stephen until Paul deemed him old enough to inherit the house and wealth his father had left behind when he died. Stephen was pretty sure that his mother had intended for him to inherit the family riches at 18, but he might have been wrong, he had never seen his mother's will and the only reason he knew what he knew was from what Paul had told him. Well, now he was 32 and he still hadn't been given what he had been promised. If only he could find out where Paul hid his mother's will, then maybe he could clear up this mess. Stephen sighed and bid the bird farewell as he stood up and closed the window. If he didn't start his chores soon he wouldn't be able to get to work that night. He quickly got dressed in his usual work cloths, a white button up shirt with a brown vest and a pair of worn jeans and boots. Before he left his room he paused and grabbed the necklace his mother and father had given to him for his birthday when he was little. It was a dark silver chain with a cross that had beautiful designs on it and it was inscribed with a word that meant 'warrior'. He stared at it in his hand before he kissed it and put it on, remembering to tuck it under his shirt so that Paul wouldn't see it and wouldn't try to take it away from him, like he took away everything else that was special to Stephen. He quickly made his way down the dusty staircase and opened the door that lead to the main house. The house was quite lavish with chandeliers, marble tile floors, and many beautiful rooms that words could not come close to describing. He made his way to the other end of the house and went into the kitchen to get breakfast ready. He looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:30 in the morning, which meant that he had about a few hours to prepare breakfast for his step-family, so he got to it. He went out to the hen house and gathered some eggs (while being pecked rigorously at by angry chickens) and got some milk from their cow Bessie, as well as an assortment. He mixed up some batter for pancakes and lit the oven and stove. He put some pieces of bread in the oven to toast and poured the batter onto the frying pan. He had made 10 pancakes and the bread had been toasted by the time his step-brother, Dolph, made his way into the kitchen. Stephen didn't notice him until he plopped down rather loudly in a chair, making Stephen jump slightly.

"Good mornin' to you fella, how was your night?" Stephen said as he placed some pancakes and a piece of toast on a plate and brought it over to Dolph.

Dolph groaned and reached for the syrup that Stephen had placed on the table earlier. "I didn't get a lot of sleep 'cause I'm so excited for that ball that the prince is having in a week or something like that."

Stephen stopped what he had been doing just for a second before continuing flipping pancakes. He hadn't been told that there was going to be a ball, then again his step-family never told him anything. But he tried to play along in order to get more information about this 'ball'.

"Is that so? Did you get an invitation from the palace?"

Dolph grunted and pulled an envelope out of his robe pocket and waved it around. "Uh yeah, how else would I know about it? Anyways it says that the royal family is holding a ball for the prince's birthday or something. It's supposed to be a masquerade ball so me and Punk are gonna go to town today to pick out our outfits."

Stephen just nodded to let Dolph know that he was listening. Stephen kind of wanted to go this ball, but he knew with his luck and Paul's vice grip on him he probably wouldn't be allowed to go. Plus even if he did go he would probably be a wall flower because he doesn't really like to dance in public, or sing for that matter. His parents had told him at a young age that he had a lovely voice, but he still refused to sing in front of other human beings. But sometimes when he was bored he would sing a lullaby to himself, but he was always in his room where no one could hear him anyways. He heard another trudging sound and glanced over to see Punk seating himself at the table. 3...2...1...

"I want breakfast!" Punk demanded.

Stephen sighed and resisted the urge to shake his head at his demanding step-brother. His step-brother's name wasn't Punk; he just wanted to be called that. Frankly Stephen didn't give the furry crack of a rat's behind so he just went along with it, because lord knows what Punk would do if he was addressed by his real name...probably have another fit. Stephen quickly got some food together for Punk and set it in front of the spoiled man. Out of all the people in this house Punk probably treated Stephen the worst. Paul and Dolph still didn't treat him very well but Paul only gave him orders and Dolph was too into himself to care. Out of the two sons Paul's favorite was Punk that was for sure. Paul was always getting Punk some shiny new object whenever he threw a fit. Once again, Dolph was just too into himself to care.

"Oh Stephen PS father is out of town on business as of last night so you don't have to wait for him, you can go ahead and start your chores." Dolph said with food in his mouth.

Stephen just nodded and began cleaning up the kitchen. By the time Dolph and Punk had left to do whatever they desired Stephen had finished cleaning the kitchen and went to his other chores. He swept all the marble tile floors; beat down the rugs so that there wasn't a speck of dirt, washed the linen and cloths (he had to wash his own separately) and hung them up to dry, and an assortment of other things that took him practically all day. By 5:00 he was finally on his final chore, which was scrubbing the floor of the main hall. He would have to finish this quickly if he wanted to have enough time to get to his night job. He filled a bucket with water and some special soap, grabbed a scrubber, and got to it. Frankly he thought scrubbing the floor was humiliating seeing how he had to get on his hands and knees. It reminded him of how helpless he was. Sure he could give a swift kick to each of their asses but Paul would throw him out and he would lose any chance of getting his family's house back, plus it wasn't like he had anywhere to go. Just when he was about to be finished Punk walked in with muddy shoes and walked all over the place. Stephen resisted the urge to glare at the other man as he Punk looked down at his feet in fake shock.

"Oh my, it seems that I forgot to take off my dirty shoes before coming into the house!" Punk smirked and turned towards Stephen. "And to think that because of me you'll have to start all over again." Punk slipped off his shoes and threw them at Stephen, the flying objects just barely missing the ginger's head. "I want those cleaned by tomorrow morning, got it Stephen?"

Stephen clenched his jaw for a moment resisting the urge to punch Punk's lights out. But he knew that if he did Paul would throw him out and he would have almost no chance of getting his family's estate back. Stephen took a deep breath and picked the filthy shoes up from the ground.

"I'll have them cleaned by tomorrow morning." Stephen said through clenched teeth.

Luckily for him Punk didn't notice how red his face was and just skipped away, off to do who knows what. Stephen just shook his head at the man-child and placed the shoes back down on the floor. Punk hadn't walked all over the floor so there was only a small part that needed to be re-cleaned. So Stephen sighed and splashed the remaining water in the bucket onto the floor and began scrubbing once again.

Stephen finished the remaining floor just as the sun began to set. Without wasting any time he grabbed Punk's shoes and ran up to his room and closed the door. He quickly changed out of his now dirtied cloths into something much nicer that he had 'found' in one of his father's old trunks. It was a light purple dress shirt and a black vest with a pair of dark dress pants. He couldn't change his worn shoes seeing how they were the only pair he had but it wasn't like people were going to be staring at his feet. He waited until he heard the click of the lock on his door before taking the homemade rope out from under his mattress. The only reason Paul was living on easy street was because of Stephen, seeing how his mother left him the family estate. So since her death Paul has had a tight grip on Stephen because if Stephen found his mother's will and left Paul would no longer have all these luxuries. In other words, Paul Heyman was greedy and Stephen was the key to the most valuable treasure in the world. So every night when Stephen retired someone, he wasn't sure who though, would come up and lock him in his room. But that didn't stop Stephen from sneaking out to his night job. Seeing how there was a very small chance that Stephen would get his family's estate the intended way he had been sneaking out at night and working at a bar as a bartender and a waiter. He was never assigned to be a bouncer though. While Stephen was very fit and one hell of a fighter the manager thought that he was just too good looking for the job. In other words, because of his rather unique appearance he was mainly flashed around for women and men alike to ogle at. He had even been offered a drink or other things by customers but he would always respectfully decline. But sometimes he would have to knock a few heads in order for the customer or customers to get that he was not for sale. Like that one guy from the east, while Stephen had been waiting tables the bastard had the nerve to grab Stephen's ass as he passed by. What did Stephen do? He slapped the guy clean across the face. But unfortunately the eastern man still hadn't gotten his message so it took another slap and a swift kick to ass for him to leave Stephen alone. Stephen tied the rope to his bed post and carefully climbed out his window, trying his best not to make any thumping sounds on the roof. Once he had situated himself well he let gravity do the work and he slid down the rope and landed gracefully on his feet. He looked around to make sure that no one was watching him before he sprinted towards the road that lead to the house. Town was pretty far away but carriages would always be passing along on the road so he would hop on one of those. He hopped on that back of a passing hay truck and was able to get to town just before his shift started.

_Elsewhere..._

John hoped to God that no one had seen him jump from his window into a nearby tree. You would think that being the prince that you had every privilege that the kingdom had to offer, but he still had what you would call over protective parents. If John wanted to go anywhere 'unofficial' he would have to sneak out and return by morning. Yes, the prince John Cena, the role model to all, was sneaking out for a drink. Seems pretty childish but if you spent most of your life in a palace with servants that would do everything and anything for you with the snap of a finger you would want to get out more often on your own too. Sure having servants might sound nice but John wanted to be a more independent person, which is why he always locked his room at night so that the servants wouldn't go into his room to dress him and brush his teeth for him like he was a no good lazy-ass. He was freaking 33 years old; he didn't need to be babied! And on top of that, his parents were throwing a masquerade ball on his birthday so that he could find someone to marry and be his queen. John thought the whole ordeal was stupid, there's no way that he could fall in love in one night! Plus it would probably be some girl that his parents saw fit to be his arm candy. If only his parents knew...He carefully climbed down the tree and landed on the soft grass, pulling his hood over his face and quickly making his way to the horse stables. He grabbed his horse, a black stallion by the name of Checkmate, and jumped onto his back riding towards the nearby town. Checkmate was the fastest horse out of all the palace stallions so they had no problem getting by the guards. Within the hour he was able to arrive in the town with its bustling streets and lights trying to find a good bar. His hood was blocking his vision so he took it off. You wouldn't be able to tell that he was a price by his attire. He was wearing a simple green T-shirt and denim shorts with a pear of athletic looking sneakers. He didn't have a problem with anyone recognizing him seeing how he really didn't get out much. He and Checkmate made their way over to a bar they hadn't tried. The valet took his horse to the stables and gave him a ticket for when he wanted to leave. John thanked the valet and made his way into the bar. He was met with waiters and waitresses bustling around trying to fill in the orders of a demanding horde of people (which John noticed to be mostly men) and the smell of alcohol and some strange combination of food. Not wanting to be in the way of things John quickly made his way over the bar and seated himself on a stool. A man dressed as a bartender with sandy blonde hair walked over to him and pulled out a pen and pad of paper. John saw his name tag read 'Abberline L'.

"How can I help you sir?" The bartender, assumingly named Abberline, asked.

John thought for a moment and shrugged. "A beer will be fine."

"What kind of beer."

John smirked a little. "Surprise me."

Abberline nodded and glanced at his watch. "Well my shift is over but I'll call over another bartender to assist you."

Abberline walked to the back of the bar and stuck his head in a doorway. "YO FARRELLY IT'S YOUR TURN!"

John heard a muffled voice and caught a word that sounded a lot like 'fella'. John redirected his attention to a stack of coasters nearby him and began fiddling with them. He heard a pair of foot steps come closer to him.

"Sorry for the long wait fella but I just got here a little while ago, how can I help you?"

John looked up ready to speak again but his voice caught in his throat when he laid eyes on the new bartender. He was a large man with milky pale skin, blue eyes, and the most beautiful red hair John had ever seen. His breath was taken away by the sight of the other man that he forgot to stop himself from gasping. John glanced at his name tag and saw that this man's name was Stephen F. He assumed that the F stood for Farrelly seeing how that's what the other guy Abberline had called him. Stephen looked at him with a confused face, which for some reason John found adorable.

"Uh...fella, are you alright?" Stephen asked, leaning in closer to John and waving his hand in front of his face to see if he was awake.

John snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat awkwardly, trying not to blush. "Sorry...it's just been a long day."

Stephen chuckled and nodded sympathetically. "Yeah I can relate fella, we get a lot of those around here. So Abberline said that you wanted a beer?"

John gulped a little and nodded a little. "Yeah...but now that I think about it..."

Stephen smiled at John, which for some reason made John feel warm inside. "Ah I see, you need some more time to decide. Well I'll leave you to it and you can call me over when you're ready. By the way my name's Stephen."

Stephen was about to walk away but John reached out and grabbed his arm. Stephen jumped and froze for a few seconds before looking back at John with a raised eyebrow. John, realizing what he had done quickly let go of Stephen's arm.

"Um...well, actually I was wondering if you could tell me what you have here yourself."

Stephen looked at him as if to say 'Is that so?' but nodded and turned back to John. "Well I suppose that'll be alright fella—"

"John."

Stephen looked at John slightly confused once again.

"My name's John...I figured that seeing how you gave me your name that I should give you mine. Does that...bother you at all?"

Stephen looked at him seemingly shocked for a moment before getting serious and leaning over towards John. "Listen fella, the only time someone even bothers to mention their name to me is when they want to take me to home with them, if you catch my drift. Now if you ask around you'll find out what happens to guys who take too much initiative on me and you can bet your life it'll involve a swift arse kicking, do you understand that fella?"

John gulped but also didn't bother to hide his shock. How many times has Stephen been 'offered' these kinds of things? Obviously it was a lot if Stephen could recognize the signs and would act this way if he even thought that he saw them. Actually come to think about it if John looked around he could see several eyes follow Stephen and a few glares directed at John when Stephen smiled at him.

"I-I wasn't trying to make a move on you or anything I was just trying to be polite! I've never been to this bar before so I guess I'm not familiar with what goes on around here. I'm sorry if I offended you...I really didn't mean to! If you want I can leave right now but I'll still pay for something so that you don't get in trouble with your boss."

Now Stephen was even more shocked than John. No one had ever apologized for their behavior towards Stephen before let alone would go to those measures to ensure his comfort. Stephen backed away from John slowly, still a little awe-struck.

"Oh...I'm sorry fe-...err, John. I guess after years of being hit on by a bunch of sleaze bags certain things tends to get to you."

John waved his hand sympathetically at Stephen. "No, no it's my fault. I guess I crossed a boundary that I shouldn't have so I should have been more careful. But for the record, and I'm not trying to make a move on you, you are pretty cute."

Stephen blushed a little and looked away from John grumbling a little, obviously embarrassed by the comment. John couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Yep, you're cute. You look it and you definitely act it."

Stephen grumbled a little more before smiling and looking back at John, the blush still there. "You're just fooling around with me aren't you?"

John smiled triumphantly. "Yes, yes I am."

Stephen and John spent the rest of the night talking to each other with Stephen occasionally having to leave to fill in some orders. Stephen even stayed after his shift just to sit and talk to John. He and John could talk about almost anything it seemed...except a few details of course. Maybe if they became better friends perhaps Stephen could tell John about what was going on back at his, or rather Paul's, estate and maybe, just maybe, John could help. But he doubted it; maybe this would be the only night that Stephen ever saw John. It was way past closing time and John and Stephen had been informed that they would have to leave soon. But John wanted to get to know more about Stephen so he told him that he'd wait for him while he got his stuff out the back room for employees. So Stephen made his way to the back and began stuffing his uniform back into his locker when he was suddenly struck on the back on the head. Stephen fell into the lockers and his vision became blurry. A hand grabbed at his color and pulled him towards another mans face.

"I've been watching you all night ginger bread...and let me say that you are one hot piece of ass."

The man who had assaulted Stephen reeked of booze and tobacco, but Stephen had his money on the booze. He was pulled up and roughly pushed up against the lockers. Stephen tried to throw a punch at the man, but he was so dizzy he could barely see his attackers face. The man grabbed Stephen's face and licked up his cheek. Stephen's eyes snapped open and with all his strength he pushed the man away and tried to run. But his attacker grabbed his ankle and he fell to the floor hitting his head again, now hearing a ringing in the air. He was going to black out soon, he knew it. Maybe if he called John...but it was no use. His attacker gagged him and pushed him to the ground pinning his hands to his sides. He thought that he felt himself beginning to cry, and for good reason. He knew what this man was going to do...he was going to rape him. But at least Stephen wouldn't be awake to feel it...so maybe he could pretend that this was all a bad dream. He heard some yelling and a cracking sound along with the weight of the man being lifted off his back. Before he blacked out he felt someone pick him up, his head being rested on the shoulder of someone.

**DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN! CLIFF HANGER~! Aren't I a meanie ;)? So….Cena won the Royal Rumble, YAY! The Rock is the new WWE champion, EVEN BIGGER YAY! I'm glad McMahon FINALLY did something about the Shield and on RAW Heyman was SO CLOSE to being fired but then stupid Brock Lesnar had to go out and attack him! I heard that McMahon got a broken pelvis from it. So….who wants to join me in torturing and killing the Shield? Anyone…..please? Because I am seriously considering it. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	2. A Promise of Reunion

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I HOPE I DIDN'T LEAVE YOU WAITING TOO LONG! I and my friend Steph (as in Stephanie, not Stephen XD) were able to decide what John and Stephen would wear for the ball; believe it or not it was actually pretty difficult. Oh and if you can guess the song that appears in this chapter you get a cookie ;). Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 2: A Promise of Reunion

_"...and Prince Eric put the glass slipper on Cinderella's foot. When the slipper fit perfectly he knew that he had found his true love. They were married the next day and lived happily ever after."_

_Stephen's mother closed the story book and placed it on the nightstand next to her bed. Every night Stephen would go into her room so that she could read him stories of fairy-tales and great conquests. It was always right before bed so he would snuggle up with her under the sheets until the story was over._

_"Mama...how did Prince Eric know that the glass slipper would only fit Cinderella? I mean there could be more than one girl that has the same shoe size." Stephen asked._

_His mother looked down at him, her red hair serving as a small cloak to both of their shoulders. "I don't know Stephen, he probably just knew."_

_Stephen pouted. "But that doesn't make any sense! He didn't even have to use the glass slipper to know who she was because he could just look at her face! It wasn't a masquerade ball so he would've been able to recognize her! It makes me wonder if he was actually looking at her face or something else..."_

_Stephen's mother laughed at her son and draped an arm over his shoulder. "Well...he was just using the glass slipper to be sure that it was her. After all Cinderella was dressed up for the ball but when he saw her again she was—" She was cut off by another coughing fit._

_This one lasted much longer than the other ones and it worried Stephen. As soon as her fit was over she cleared her throat and saw how worried Stephen was. She gave him a sad smile and stroked his hair._

_"Don't worry baby, I'm fine, it was just another fit. There's nothing to be worried about." She said as she leaned forward and kissed his forehead._

_Even with her reassurance Stephen was still worried. His mother seemed to be getting sicker and sicker by the day. He didn't want his mother to die; he wanted her to live so that she could read more stories to him and so that they could play outside together again. Stephen's mother saw that his worried expression hadn't changed making her frown._

_She sighed. "Really...you shouldn't worry about me so much." Suddenly an idea popped in her head. "You know what would make me feel better?"_

_Stephen's head shot up, his eyes filled with hope once again._

_"Could you sing to me, like your father used to do? You know that I love to hear you sing."_

_Stephen blushed a little and looked back down at his hands. "But mama...what if someone hears or comes into your room?"_

_Stephen's mother smiled and kissed his forehead again. "Don't worry, they won't, I promise."_

_Stephen nodded and thought of a song to sing for his mother. The one that he thought of was beautiful but sad...and he questioned why he had chosen to sing it. But it was one of his mother's favorites._

**_I dreamed a sad dream_**  
**_In the dream I didn't realize_**  
**_That I destroyed a precious treasure_**  
**_By my own hands_**

**_One day those lost memories were_**  
**_Pushed to the depth of my heart_**  
**_Only empty loneliness is left in me_**  
**_And it's distracting my blank mind_**

**_Looking up to the sky_**  
**_I reached out my arms_**  
**_But couldn't touch the whiteness beyond_**  
**_In the sad dream_**  
**_Someone smiled and held my hands_**  
**_Who was that...?_**

**_To the ends of the sky_**  
**_If I could fly and look for you_**  
**_I'd hold you in my arms_**  
**_And never let you go_**  
**_I take my oath on this…_**

* * *

Stephen awoke abruptly and sat straight up, immediately regretting it from the throbbing pain that developed in his head. He doubled over and held his head in his hands hoping that it would help with the pain. He felt someone put their hand on his shoulder and he jumped, quickly turning to them to see that it was only John.

"Hey Stephen...are you alright?" John said, his voice laced with worry.

Stephen rubbed his temples and sighed. "My head hurts like hell but other than that I'm just peachy."

Stephen looked around and saw that were on some kind of grassy hill that had a perfect view of the town. The moon was low in the sky meaning that the night would soon be over.

"What...was that you were singing?"

Stephen looked at John with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"

John paused for a moment and gulped a little before he answered. "While you were out you began singing. I couldn't really understand all that you were singing because you were mumbling...it was something about treasure and an oath?"

Stephen blushed a light pink when he realized that John had heard him singing in his sleep. He didn't like people hearing him sing, well...everyone except his parents but they're gone now. "Oh...you heard that?"

John nodded. "Yeah...you shouldn't act embarrassed, it was actually pretty nice."

Stephen rolled his eyes at John but his blush got darker.

"No really, I thought it was really good! I mean...I didn't mean to overhear you singing but when I heard you mumble I thought that you were coming to and..." John face-palmed. "Man this is not my night."

Stephen chuckled a little. "You're not the only one..." Then his expression became serious. "I never thought someone would go and attack me like that, most times people are too afraid to even talk to me because I'm so strong." Stephen looked at John. "Did you...save me from that guy?"

John nodded. "Yeah...I heard some crashing coming from the back and went to check up on you when I saw that guy on top of you. From the looks of it he was trying to rape you but I kicked him in the head and knocked him out before he could get his hands on your pants. I didn't want him to wake up and try to get you again so I picked you up and brought you hear to rest. I don't...have enough money for a doctor, sorry."

Stephen shook his head and put his hand on John's shoulder. "No...it's fine, really, I have a thick skull so he didn't do any damage. I should really thank you for helping me. If you weren't there I don't know what would have happened, but I know it would've been bad. I owe you big time fella."

John looked at Stephen with almost a smirk on his face. "I think I have a good idea on how you can repay me."

At first Stephen was worried and thought that John would ask for something like sex, but remembered that John didn't seem like that kind of person. "And what would that be?"

John smiled even more. "Meet me here again tomorrow night, at midnight."

Stephen looked at John shocked. He was going to repay John by seeing him again? Strange...but he was grateful for it. This meant that he John could really be friends, and he needed one badly...in fact they both did.

Stephen smiled and shook John's hand. "No problem fella, I'll get here as soon as I can tomorrow."

John nodded happily. "Thanks man, I appreciate it." John turned his gaze to the horizon. "Wow...it's going to be a beautiful sunrise."

Stephen's eyes went wide as he looked at the horizon as well. Sure enough, the sun was just beginning to peak above the hills. "Oh no..." Stephen jumped to his feet. "I'm sorry to leave just like that but I really better be heading home or...I just have to get back home."

At first John just looked at Stephen suspiciously, but let it slide. He stood up and whistled and his horse Checkmate came trotting over. He walked over and pet the horse for a little while before turning to Stephen.

"I can see that you're in a hurry so I'll let you borrow my horse."

Stephen looked at John with eyes wide from shock. Did John just seriously offer him a horse? Sure it was just borrowing but still...they had only known each other for at least 5 hours or so. How could John trust him that much already? John saw Stephen's confusion and waved his hand.

"I know what it's like to have to rush, plus you couldn't steal him even if you tried. Once you get back to your house just tell him that he can go, he knows his way back to me."

Stephen looked at John with a raised eyebrow and walked over to Checkmate. He looked at John again before hoisting himself up on the horse's back. "You're absolutely sure that this is fine, right?"

John nodded. "Oh yeah, if it wasn't well...we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we?"

Stephen chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Well, thanks fella, it seems that I owe you two now."

And with that Stephen and Checkmate ran off into the direction of the estate. John watched them go until they were completely out of sight before turning back to the horizon to watch the sunrise. He was going to be in deep shit when he got back home.

* * *

Thanks to Checkmate Stephen was able to get back to the estate just as the sun was coming up. He thanked the horse and bid him farewell, the horse nodding and trudging away. Stephen wasted no time in climbing back up to his room. For breakfast he could probably do something quick and seeing how Paul wasn't in town he wouldn't have to make as much so he could probably get an hour of sleep at the most. He jumped over his windowsill and quickly pulling the homemade rope back up and hiding it under his mattress again. He sighed and sat on his bed running a hand through his hair and rubbed his tired eyes. He was about to just lie down in his cloths when something caught his eye. Oh shit...he had to clean Punk's shoes! Stephen cursed at his step-brother and trudged over to pick up the shoes. The mud had dried so he would have to beat out whatever mud he could and scrape the rest out by hand, which would take an hour at the least. Well, there goes his sleeping time. Stephen jiggled the knob on his door but to no avail, it was still locked. That means that he would have to clean Punk's shoes in his room, lovely. Stephen opened his window and beat the shoes together in the open air, the dirt falling to the ground. Once he beat the shoes to the point where there was no more loose dirt, he took out a small rug and his pocket knife that he kept in his trunk and began picking out the dirt stuck between the crevasses of the shoes. This act didn't require much movement and Stephen found himself dozing off, but he forced himself to stay awake to finish the mind-numbing work. He was able to get practically every single speck of dirt off, but knowing Punk he would also want his shoes to be shined. Well fuck him; if he wants shiny shoes he can just complain to Paul to get him a new pair. Stephen put the shoes on his counter and shook the dirt off the rug outside the window and plopped down on his bed. As soon as he hit the covers his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

* * *

John watched the sun make its appearance over the hills in the distance. He sighed and let the warm summer breeze blow through his cloths, wrapping his consciousness up in the smells and sounds of early morning. He didn't know why Stephen had felt a need to rush out of there, but he could take a few guesses. Though John knew that it wasn't because of his parents, Stephen had told him that his parents had died a while ago from sickness. He couldn't help but feel bad for the man, just thinking about it actually made John appreciate his parents more. He was lucky to have both of his parents alive and well, unlike so many orphans in the kingdom. But unlike his father, John knew the pains of the people. His father preferred to stick to the old ways of ruling which meant sitting in a castle for most of your life and only leaving for official business or to mingle. That and he wanted John to marry a beautiful princess for nothing more than arm candy, but John didn't want that. He wanted to have a friend and fall in love with them...and have a family, a family that came from love mind you, not duty. Plus as John has observed over the years he seems to be attracted to men more than women. It's not that he didn't like girls, he just preferred guys. His parents don't know about this and John doesn't intend on them finding out unless that fateful day comes when he actually falls in love with another man. Well...another man had certainly caught his eye, and that man's name was Stephen. He knew it wasn't love though, if anything it was just a small man-crush. Plus frankly anyone, male or female, had to admit that Stephen was pretty good looking. But Stephen had more than looks. John began to hum the song that Stephen had been singing in his sleep.

John sighed. "What were those words again? _Looking up to the sky I_ something _my arms but couldn't touch the_ something _beyond_. _In the sad dream someone_ something _and held my_ something and something else..."

John sighed again and rubbed his eyes. "Well whatever it was...it certainly was a sad song. You couldn't tell just from the words though...it kinda had a saddened tone to it."

John looked back to the rising sun. He couldn't help but feel that there was some kind of meaning to the reason why Stephen had been singing that song. It couldn't have just been something random...maybe he was having a dream about something that happened in the past? If it was it could have been when Stephen's parents passed away. Come to think of it...there was just something sad about Stephen in general. Not sad as in pathetic but...more so like the way he carried himself, almost like he's trying to hide some great pain from those around him. As if to spare them of his suffering. Whatever it was, John wanted to find out what it was and hopefully help his apparent new friend. He wouldn't pry it out of the other man though, if he did that would just make things worse. John's eyes lowered to the ground and he watched the grass sway in the wind. He wanted to help his people, he really did. But it seemed like he couldn't make a big difference until he became the king. John looked back up when he heard the soft chiming of a clock tower. He heard seven chimes and decided that he better start getting back to the palace on foot. He stopped short in his tracks however when he heard the happy trotting of Checkmate behind him. He smiled and turned around and greeted the horse with a happy pat to the head.

"Hey there buddy, I'll assume that you got Stephen home safely?"

The horse grunted and nodded with an assumed yes.

"Well that's good, I hope you like him 'cause we're gonna see him later tonight."

John climbed up on Checkmate and they rode off in the direction of the palace. Hopefully no one had noticed that he was gone.

**AND SCENE! LOLZ how was it? I can't help but feel that this chapter was shorter than I intended it to be but honestly what can a simple fujoshi do? Now just a little PS in this world it is possible for men to get pregnant, but it's very rare. Why is that? Because in my world anything is possible. Don't worry, there won't be mpreg in this story...unless you want there to be. Oh I was thinking about doing a one-shot where John purposes to Stephen. I talked about it with my little sister but I'm still debating it. What do you think? It'll take place on RAW if I do write it. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	3. Hurrying to get back to you

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Now I had a snow day today but my mom will be coming to pick me up soon so I might not be able to get this chapter up as soon as I want to. Oh by the way, I found the most...interesting video on YouTube the other day. It's called 'Cenamus yaoi? Lol'. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3: Hurrying to get back to you

Stephen was awoken by a loud knocking. He shot up out of his bed but again regretted it as he felt a major headache come on. He rubbed a hand over his face and looked outside to the sun and saw that it was already mid-morning. Wait...MID-MORNING? Oh man he was going to be in deep shit. Again there was a knocking which startled him. He was now able to decipher that the knocking was coming from his door. Oh god...someone must have woken up earlier and saw that he wasn't already downstairs. Stephen forced himself to get up off his bed. He took a deep breath and shakily opened the door to see who it was. His eyes narrowed in confusion at who was at his door. Before him stood a tan, dark haired petite woman who went by the name of AJ.

"AJ...what are you still doing here? Hell what are you doing up here in the first place?" Stephen whispered rubbing his temples at the now pounding headache.

AJ was Dolph's girlfriend. Well...more so _secret _girlfriend. AJ was part of the nobility (as was Stephen, technically, but AJ was higher up) and was one of the many girl's that had been flashed around for the prince. But apparently the prince had turned her down and she kinda-sorta hated him for it. She _could _get revenge, being young, beautiful, rich, and powerful but she would be going up against the _royal family_ which was practically suicide! But AJ was indeed crazy (that's a fact) so she might just come around to it, though probably not. But her parents didn't want her marrying someone in a lower class, and that included Dolph. But she wanted to be with Dolph so she would sneak out and come to their estate to do who knows what with Dolph. Now sometimes Stephen would hear her sneaking out in the morning but he would, for the most part, pretend not to notice. Also when AJ came at night she would catch Stephen sneaking out to his job but she also pretended not to notice. In other words it was like an 'I scratch your back you scratch mine' type of deal going on. They weren't friends though. AJ didn't really have anything against Stephen but they just didn't really give each other that kind of vibe. Basically they didn't rat each other out so they didn't bother each other seeing how they both had something to hide.

AJ snorted at Stephen and flipped her hair. "I think you know damn well why." She sort of sensed Stephen's pain (much like the way a dog can smell fear) and her face softened a little. "Hey...what's wrong?"

She stood up on her tip-toes and made Stephen turn his head so that she could look over the back of his head and she gasped. "Oh my god Stephen there's a bump on the back of your head! What the hell happened?"

Stephen sighed as AJ removed her hands from the back of his head and rubbed his forehead. "Some bastard hit me over the head and tried to have their way with me."

AJ's eyes widened and she gasped, putting a hand over her mouth. "Holy shit…are you alright? Do you need to see a doctor? You should see a doctor to check for a concussion or—"

Stephen raised his hand cutting her off. "It's alright, he didn't get me. Someone helped me and got me some help."

That sentence, for the most part, was true. If John hadn't helped him lord knows where he would be right now, maybe still on the floor of the bar or even in the gutter.

"Someone helped you? Who was it?" AJ asked.

Again, Stephen sighed and shrugged. "It was a guy named John, but you might as well not even try to find him seeing how there are about a million John's out there. I _did _thank him and he helped me find my way out of town."

AJ peered at him for a moment. She could tell when someone was hiding something and that was no exception to Stephen, but she didn't say anything due to their 'mutual understanding'.

"Well that's good, I suppose." She looked at her wrist watch, something that only members of the highest nobility had at the time. "I better get out of here before my parents notice that I'm gone, and don't worry Punk and Dolph aren't up yet."

And with that she skipped off, not having to worry about Paul seeing how he was out of town. Stephen shook his head at the petite and insane AJ. Honestly he didn't know what she saw in Dolph. Quickly Stephen got dressed and made his way downstairs. He decided to do something quick like oatmeal and left two bowls on the table with toasted bread and with a note saying that he had to start his chores and that Punk's shoes were by his door. It was Saturday so he didn't have to work at the bar that night so he figured that once he got his chores done he could sleep for a little while before going to see John. He wondered why John had asked him to meet him later as a source of payment.

_"Perhaps he's fond of me?" _Stephen thought as he weeded the garden outside. _"Well I guess that wouldn't be too bad, after all he's nice and I have to admit he is handsome..." _Stephen blushed at his thought and smacked his forehead, getting dirt on his face unintentionally. _"Why would I even be thinking about him like that? I just met the guy plus I don't even know his last name! Well...I didn't tell him mine, though he probably know's that its Farrelly because of that idiot Abberline."_

Stephen sighed and tried to focus more on his work at hand to possibly clear his mind. He was able to get all his chores done by four in the afternoon so he figured that he would be able to get at least seven hours of sleep before leaving to see John. He had to admit he was actually a little excited to be seeing John again. Then again he didn't have much to look forward to in his life so it might just be over-excitement. Stephen was about to make his way (more so drag after how much sleep he lost) up to his room when someone called his name in a demanding voice.

"Hey Stephen!" It was Punk.

Stephen sighed and turned around about to speak but instead found himself face to face with a shoe, the shoe hitting him right between the eyes. He bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out and pressed his hand to his face, trying to fight the pain. He felt something warm on his hand and pulled it back to see some blood. He wiped were the shoe had hit again and there was more blood. Due to a childhood injury the skin in between his eyes had become rather tender and if it was hit hard enough it would start bleeding. Punk knew that fact and he wouldn't have even hit that spot if his throw hand't been coordinated. Stephen looked at Punk, biting back every curse word that came through his mind when he saw Punk's smug face. But that didn't stop Stephen from screaming at him.

"WHAT THE _HELL_ IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Stephen yelled a little louder than he intended.

Instead of being intimidated by Stephen's anger, Punk just 'tsked' at him and shook his head. "Now, now Stephen, there's no need to get so angry."

This enraged Stephen even more. "NO NEED TO GET ANGRY? YOU THREW A _FRIGGIN'_ SHOE AT MY FACE! WHY THE HELL SHOULDN'T I BE ANGRY?"

Punk 'tsked' at him again and stepped closer to Stephen. "Now I know that you have a bit of a temper on you which is understandable. But if I feel that your anger bothers me I might just complain to father."

Stephen clenched and unclenched his fist, using every fiber of his existence to make sure that he didn't punch Punk's head off of his shoulders. Punk had complained to Paul about how he felt about they way Stephen did certain things just so that Paul would punish him, which would involve double the work and even being locked in his room with only bread and water for food. His life was miserable enough as it is, he didn't need the extra baggage. But getting him into trouble wasn't the only reason that Punk messed with him. Punk's main goal was to make Stephen cry. Stephen hadn't cried like that since his mother had passed away plus it was just another way to try and break him. But despite Punk's efforts Stephen has been standing strong. Before Punk could say another word Stephen quickly turned on his heel and ran for his room, slamming the door closed and jumping onto his bed. He shoved his pillow into face and screamed as loud as he could to get out his anger and hurt. He hated feeling this weak, but as long as it wasn't in front of other people he would be able to live with himself. Stephen hugged the pillow to his chest and closed his eyes, doing his best to stop himself from crying. He tried to think of something to calm himself down and remembered a song his mother used to sing to him. So, he began to softly sing to himself, imagining that his mother was right beside him.

_Come stop your crying,_

_It will be alright_

_Just take my hand_

_Hold it tight_

_I will protect you from_

_All around you_

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

He slowly felt himself beginning to calm down, replacing his voice with the voice of his mother.

_For one so small you seem so strong_

_My arms will hold you,_

_Keep you safe and warm_

_This bond between us,_

_Can't be broken_

_I will be here_

_Don't you cry_

It felt as if all his troubles were melting away, as if for a little while he wasn't in this hell hole and life was just fine again. His mother was alive, he had no idea who Paul Heyman was, and he actually had a future ahead of him.

_'Cause you'll be in my heart_

_Yes, you'll be in my heart_

_From this day on_

_Now and forever more_

_You'll be in my heart_

_No matter what they say_

_You'll be here in my heart,_

_Always_

Now that Stephen thought about it, his mother said that it was one of his father's favorite songs. It reminded him that no matter where he was and despite that his parents had passed on, they would always be alive in his heart.

_Why can't they understand the way we feel?_

_They just don't trust_

_What they can't explain_

_I know we're different but,_

_Deep inside us_

_We're not that different at all_

It was true, his mother and father had a very complex relationship. He didn't know much about how they met and fell in love but he knew that at first their love for each other was rejected by their parents. But they fought for each other and in the end were able to get married and have a son, Stephen. It's funny...Stephen's mother died not too long after his father did. Well, they do say that a wife will follow her husband to the grave. But he figured that was because of the pain of losing someone you love.

_And you'll be in my heart_

_Yes, you'll be in my heart_

_From this day on,_

_Now and forever more_

_Don't listen to them,_

_'Cause what do they know?_

_We need each other_

_To have to hold_

_They'll see in time,_

_I know_

No one knew shit about what Stephen had to go through, so he never really listened to anyone. What his parents had was special and he wanted to find love just like they had. But with his current situation his chances of that happening were slim.

_When destiny calls you_

_You must be strong_

_I may not be with you_

_But you've got to hold on_

_They'll see in time_

_I know_

_We'll show them together_

_'Cause: You'll be in my heart_

_Believe me, you'll be in my heart (I'll be there)_

_From this day on,_

_Now and forever more_

Before his mother died, she had told him to stay strong and keep a straight face if something bad happened but no matter what a part of him must remain soft. She probably didn't want to see him get hurt but at the same time become completely hardened. You need compassion in order to live like a real man. He tried so hard to comply to his mother's wish, but after all these years it just becomes instinct to build a wall and close yourself in. It's the only way he knew how to survive.

_Ooh, you'll be in my heart (you'll be here in my heart)_

_No matter what they say (I'll be with you)_

_You'll be here in my heart (I'll be there)_

_Always_

_Always..._

_I'll be with you_

_I'll be there for you always_

_Always and always_

_Just look over your shoulder,_

_Just look over your shoulder,_

_Just look over your shoulder,_

_I'll be there, always_

He opened his eyes and sighed. He felt a hell of a lot better, though the series of events had tired him out. Without even bothering to change he laid down on his bed, still hugging the pillow, and fell asleep.

* * *

Stephen was aroused from his sleep by a light pecking on his window. He groaned and turned over so that he was facing the window. Through the closed window he saw that the sun had set and the moon was a good ways up in the sky. He saw a little shadow and smiled, knowing exactly who it was. He sat up in his bed and stretched his arms out before getting up and making his way over to the window. He opened the window and smiled down at his little friend, the blue jay.

"Hey there little fella, I guess I should thank you for waking me up so that I didn't miss my date."

Stephen blushed a little at himself for calling it a date but quickly pushed it aside as he knelt down and gently stroked the bird for a few minutes before getting back up and stretching some more. He looked down at his attire and wondered if it would be appropriate if he just wore this to go see John. He hadn't gotten too dirty that day but work cloths aren't really the thing you wear when you go visit a friend, a new one at that. But John didn't seem like the kind of person to obsess over one's attire, hell Stephen didn't know why he was obsessing over it. Perhaps he was just nervous. After a few minutes he sighed and decided to change into nicer cloths. They weren't completely formal, but they weren't exactly causal. The outfit he wore was similar to the one he wore to work the other night, but the cuffs on his shirt were pushed up to his elbows, the shirt was a slightly lighter color, he was wearing jeans, and the vest he was wearing was left unbuttoned. He jiggled the door knob to make sure that it was locked before taking out his homemade rope and tying it to his bedpost. Carefully he climbed out of his window and was able to get to the ground safely without making too much noise. Judging by the angle of the moon it was almost midnight so he figured that he should hurry if he wanted to make it to the hill on time. He didn't know how long it would take him to get there, so he ran, hoping to god that John had been telling the honest truth and that he wouldn't be 'fashionably late'.

* * *

It took him about five minutes by running to get to the hill. He hoped that he was in the right place but couldn't tell as he doubled over panting, trying to catch his breath. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey...you alright man?" Someone said.

Stephen looked up and saw the concerned face of his new friend, John. Stephen inwardly sighed in relief before nodding and standing up straight. "Yeah, I should be alright fella. I'm just a little worn out from running is all."

John nodded and smiled a little. "Well that's good I suppose, we should probably sit down though, if that's alright with you."

Stephen nodded and they both sat down next to each other on the soft grass. Stephen was about to ask where Checkmate was but stopped himself when he saw a black horse grazing near-by. Stephen was unsure how to pursue in conversation but luckily for him John saved him the trouble.

"So how was your day?" John asked.

Stephen shrugged. As much as he wanted to pour his heart out to someone about how miserable his life seemed to be he didn't quite trust John with that kind of information. "It was fine I guess, just like any other day. How about you?"

John shrugged as well. "Same for me, nothing really exciting happened. But that's just how life is, isn't it?"

Oh how much Stephen wanted to tell him about everything, but he held his tongue about it for the time being. "Yeah, most of the time. There are those occasional moments where you feel truly alive."

"Yeah, but most of the time you can only read about that stuff in fairy tales."

John had a point there. Most of the time all that crazy stuff happens only in stories, in which most of them are fiction. Then again...it seemed as if Stephen was living the role of Cinderella. Though it was gender swapped plus it wasn't like some prince was going to sweep him off his feet anytime soon. Besides...why would a prince of all people go after him? Yeah a lot people seemed to think that he was good looking with his _unique _features but he would also get made fun of for it too. Plus what Stephen knew is that the royal family marries their children off to other royalty. He thought that it was stupid, but he never said it out loud.

"You got that right John."

John hummed in agreement and looked up to the stars, seemingly mesmerized by them before smiling and pointing at a constellation. "Hey look, it's Virgo!"

Stephen looked to the sky and narrowed his eyes trying to find what John was pointing at. But really all he saw was a bunch of stars. They were very pretty but he couldn't really pick out constellations all that well.

"I don't see it." Stephen said.

John sighed and moved much closer to him and pointed to Virgo. "It's right there."

Stephen looked closer, but still didn't see anything. "I still don't see it."

John sighed again and took Stephen's hand. Stephen jumped and felt himself blush at John's action. John used Stephen's hand to trace out the constellation knowing from experience that it helped people see them better. He saw Stephen's eyes narrow a little more for a moment before they widened.

"You see it now?" John said, smirking.

Stephen nodded, seemingly amazed by what he saw. "Yeah...I see it."

John chuckled at Stephen, fighting a blush when he realized how close he and Stephen were. Their sides were pressed up against each other and John could feel heat radiate off of Stephen's face. The main reason why he pointed out the constellation to Stephen so that he would have an excuse to hold the red-head's hand. It worked like magic and came with a few extras. After a few minutes of savoring the moment John finally let go of Stephen's hand and gave the other man some space. He could have sworn that he saw a flash of disappointment in Stephen's eyes, but decided not to get excited over it seeing how he could have been mistaken.

"So, just out of curiosity, are you going to the masquerade ball?" John asked.

John noticed something fall over Stephen's face but it was gone in an instant so he wasn't able to identify it. Stephen shrugged. "I don't know, I did get an invitation but I might not be able to go." _"Actually I won't be able to go at all because my guardian is a no good bastard." _Stephen thought, but didn't dare to say out loud.

John's face fell a little. He would be really bummed out if his seemingly only real friend wasn't able to go to his birthday party. It was probably because Stephen needed money so he would probably work or he didn't have anything nice to wear. Now John could offer some money to Stephen but it would give his secret identity as a prince away. Plus Stephen didn't seem like the kind of guy to take money from a guy he barely knew.

"Besides..." Stephen said, looking at John smirking. "...even if I went it's a masquerade ball, you wouldn't be able to recognize me."

John looked at Stephen as if to say 'Really?' before laughing a little. "Are you sure? You don't exactly look like the next guy, not that it's a bad thing. I could probably recognize you even if you had your whole face covered."

Stephen chuckled a little. It was true, with his looks he tended to stick out like a sore thumb. Sometimes it was beneficial but others...not so much. The not so much part being if that he somehow decided to run away from Paul Heyman he would be easy to find because all Heyman would have to say is that the man he was looking for a had red hair. It seems that people have a hard time forgetting someone like him.

"You think that you could pull me out of a crowd, even if I'm wearing a mask?" John asked, cutting off Stephen's thoughts.

Stephen, in turn, shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. You're pretty tall so that could help."

John chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess being 6'1 has it's advantages and disadvantages."

Stephen laughed a little at but stopped when John stood up and reached out a hand to him. Blushing a little, Stephen took it and was pulled up onto his feet. He stumbled a little but was caught by John. The way John caught him was much like the way one might embrace another. They stayed like that only for a few moments before quickly parting from each other rather awkwardly. John cleared his throat, hoping that there wasn't a blush on his face.

"Well, it seems that we have a few hours until dawn so I figured that we could walk around a little." John said. "I've heard that there are these street performers just outside of town that are amazing singers, but only perform at night. I've always wanted to see them but...not by myself."

Stephen looked at John with a raised eyebrow. Stephen had never heard of these street performers before but never thought to go see them. Mainly because the only time he went outside was to work in the garden or to work at the bar. He hadn't heard good music (that wasn't coming from himself) in a while so he figured that this little trip might be refreshing.

So, Stephen nodded and walked closer to John. "That sounds like fun, hearing some good music I mean. Do you know where they are?"

John stared at Stephen for a few moments, awe-struck as if he was shocked that Stephen actually accepted his invitation. It wasn't really like a date but...of course that part of John's brain just had to speak up. Before it became even more awkward John mentally slapped himself.

"Yeah, c'mon I'll show you."

John began walking towards town, but stopped when he noticed the lack of footsteps following him. He looked behind him and saw Stephen looking in a certain direction with this torn look, almost as if he was deciding if he should stay or go. While John found this rather odd, he didn't say anything about it. Instead he whistled in order to get Stephen's attention.

"Hey Stephen, are you alight?" he called out.

Stephen gave one last long look to...whatever he had been looking at before turning to face John fully, his face now seemingly expressionless. But if you looked closely you could see the small look of what someone might have when they had just defied some important rule or law. "I'm fine, lets go."

Stephen hurried past John, walking towards town at a much faster pace than John was going at. John looked at Stephen walking away, then back at the grassy hill, then back at Stephen before hurrying to catch up with the red-head. After all, Stephen had no idea where they had to go.

* * *

John had led them both to a small courtyard on the outer-rim of town. It was mostly cut off from the bustling streets except for a small alleyway. The walls of the courtyard were lined with half-withered vines and there were small but pretty flowers growing out of the cracks in the stone ground. In the center of the courtyard was a small fountain, but it had long run dry. Stephen had never been to this part of the town, not even when he was a child. In it's own way it was very pretty. Stephen knelt down and gently touched one of the pretty flowers, it's petals soft to the touch. He couldn't help but smile a little. John seated himself on the edge of the fountain and just watched Stephen for a little while, admiring his somewhat childish curiosity, before speaking up.

"They say that there are two performers, one from the Spanish lands and the other from the far east. One will play an instrument and the other will sing a song that combines their two languages."

Stephen stood up completely and looked at John. "That's a little weird...but interesting. I've heard a few songs in foreign languages, but mostly the one's my mother would sing to me. Her favorite song was called _Alluring Secret White Vow._ The song is originally in another language, which one I am unsure, and she would sing it to me in English and the other language. I remember singing it to her before she..." Stephen trailed off at the memory, but cut it off before it got too deep.

John, sort of knowing what he was talking about, nodded. "Yeah..." John glanced over at something and patted the spot next to him, gesturing for Stephen to sit. Stephen looked behind him and saw two teenagers, one with a guitar, and figured that it was those street performers that John had been talking about. Stephen sat right next to John and watched as the two guys set up. They didn't look very old, in fact they looked to be maybe fifteen or sixteen at the most. Perhaps this was how they made money for their families? The one who looked like he was from the far east sat down and began strumming the guitar beautifully and the tanner one, most likely from the Spanish country, began to sing.

_Hola, Jounetsu wa tomaranain ya de_

_Tougyu, Flamenco, Liga Española, __Está buenísimo_

_Hoppeta ochiru de_

_Sangría, ¡Churros!, Paella_

John got up from his seat on the edge of the fountain and looked down at Stephen with a smile on his face. Stephen was about to ask John what he was doing when John reached out a hand to Stephen, asking him silently if he would grant him a a dance.

_Sagrada Familia mada mada tsukutterun ya de_

Stephen felt himself blush a light pink, but for some reason found himself taking John's hand. John pulled him up and drew him into somewhat of an embrace. John still had Stephen's hand in one of his and the other one placed itself on Stephen's side. Unsure of what to do, Stephen put his free hand on John's shoulder. John smiled and leaned forward to Stephen's ear.

"Would you like me to lead?"

Stephen blushed even more feeling John's hot breath on his ear and nodded. John smiled even more and they both began swaying to the music, slowly at first.

_Vamos, España,_ _Vamos, España_

_Rojigualda kakagete_

_Olé, Olé! Oyabun yakara na  
_

_Mamottaru de donna mono kara mo  
_

_Genki ga deru omajinai  
_

_Suru? Na, suru?_

_Fusososososo~, fusosososososo~, fusososososo~_

_"Mou shitemota!"_

John became a little bolder and, getting lost in the music, slid his hand down to Stephen's hip and even gave Stephen a quick spin, pulling the other man into an embrace from behind and wrapped his arms around Stephen, still swaying to the music. John thought that the blush on Stephen's face was adorable beyond all reason.

"Is it bad that I feel that I should think that this weird, but really I don't?" Stephen whispered glancing back at John.

John shook his head. "No...not at all."

_Ganbare, ganbare, ganbare, ganbare Oyabun_

_Ganbare, ganbare..._

_Muccha kakkoee toko misetaru de_

_¡Fiesta! Dentou no subarashii sa_

_Hanamatsuri, La Tomatina, Ushioi matsuri_

_Nagai nagai junrei no michi_

_Kokoro ga arawareru waa_

_Taisetsuna shuukan siesta_

_Onegai yakara tsudzuki de_

_Okosantoite naa, Romano_

John spun Stephen around once more so that they were now facing each other, their faces extremely close together. They watched each other with half-lidded eyes, wondering if some kind of madness had over-taken them.

_Konnani jyoushi ni okorarete mitemo_

_Yappari tebanasenain ya de_

_Gin ya zaisan ni kaerarenai hodo taisetsunan ya de_

_Vamos, España  
_

_Vamos, España  
_

_Rojigualda kakagete_

The music came to a slow stop, but they barely noticed it. They stopped swaying and took a few minutes just to gaze into each other's eyes. John wanted to kiss Stephen, he wanted to kiss him with all he had. It might have been seen as foolish by others, but at the moment he didn't care. Just as the clock tower began to ring John slowly began to lean in, as if asking Stephen if this was OK. He heard no protest from Stephen, so he took that as a yes. He was so close, he could almost feel Stephen's face. When they were literally millimeters apart Stephen heard the last chime and felt panic over take him. It was five in the morning, he needed to get back to the estate before someone noticed that he was gone! He put his hand on John's shoulder, stopping John.

"I'm sorry but...I have to go."

John nodded weakly, the disappointment clearly showing on his face followed by sadness. Stephen didn't want to leave John like this so he quickly kissed John on the cheek before walking away, his hand lingering on John's arm before he began sprinted away, hoping that he would get back to the estate on time. John could only stand there awe-struck at the realization that he could have just fallen in love.

**HAHAHAHA! CLIFF HANGER! Now I don't have much time to type here but the name of the second song is _La Pasion no se detiente. _Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	4. Daring confessions of the Heart

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Now I'm not going to post this chapter until YamixYuugiLover updates 'Love bites' so I don't know when this will get to you. My reasoning behind it is because she said that she needed some motivation to finish the next chapter so I gave her some****. Cruel I know but I REALLY want to see what happens next in LB. Sure this may not make any sense to you but it doesn't have to. THERE WILL BE SMUT IN THIS CHAPTER! So when I actually get this up…..yeah. Oh and YaYu I hope you don't mind that I named this chapter after one of your Cenamus fics! ENJOY!**

Chapter 4: Daring confessions of the Heart

Stephen ran away from town as fast as he could, a million things running through his mind.

"_John just tried to kiss me! Why didn't that bother me? I mean yeah I felt my heart flutter when he asked me to dance but...why did I kiss him on the cheek? I mean I like him and all but..."_

Stephen shook his head and ran faster, eventually making it back to the estate and quickly climbing up to his room making it seem like he never left. Due to the late time he had no time to get some extra sleep, not that he needed it with his pumping adrenaline. He just hoped that this day would go by as normally as possible so that he could talk to John about...well, everything.

* * *

Luckily for our favorite red-head Dolph and Punk were in town all day shopping for what they were going to wear to the ball so Stephen had no problem with finishing all of his chores without worry. He was able to finish all his work by four in the afternoon so as soon as he was done he went back up to his room and plopped down onto his bed, falling asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

_As soon as he felt his eyes close they opened again, only he was standing in a field that had dark yellow-green grass and a dark grey sky._

_"Oh...I must be dreaming."_

_He felt the wind pick up and stumbled a little by it's fierce power. He turned his head to where the wind was coming from and now saw himself surrounded by tree's as if he was in the woods. In the distance he saw a large house. He couldn't make out the color of the house but it was darkened, as if something evil lurked there. Stephen looked around only to see the woods thicken._

_"Should I go to that house? I mean...sure it looks harmless but I have a bad feeling about this."_

_He felt the wind pick up again, only it was coming from behind him as if it was trying to push him towards the house._

_"Well...it looks like I don't have much of a choice."_

_So he began walking in the direction of the house, even though his gut was screaming at him to run the other way. He had to climb over large tree roots along the way but that didn't bother him much. But there was something he noticed...something weird. It was almost as if when he took a step forward the house moved forward as well. Soon enough he found himself on the porch of this strange house. He pondered whether or not if he should knock on the door, it seemed like no one lived here but at the same time it seemed like he felt some sort of presence, several actually. But just as he was about to knock the door slowly creaked open, revealing a dark hallway. Stephen gulped a little and stepped in, jumping a little when the door closed behind him._

_He looked back at the closed door for a moment before looking forward again. The hallway he was standing in looked like it was completely made of grey wood and shadows seemed to dance along the corners and walls. He felt a tiny shiver of fear when he heard what sounded like someone whispering, but it seemed to be coming from underneath him. Was someone in the basement? He looked down to the floor and gasped by what he saw. His feet were transparent! At first Stephen thought that he was just hallucinating but when he looked at his hands he saw that they were transparent also, in fact his whole body was transparent as if he was a ghost._

_He felt a shadow fall over him and looked up, letting out a yelp of surprise as he saw a cloaked figure standing in front of him. From what he could tell the figure in front of him was a woman, but he couldn't see the woman's face because it was masked in darkness. But even though he couldn't see the woman's face, there was something slightly familiar about her. He was about to say something when the cloaked woman raised a finger to where one assumed to be her mouth and shushed him before pointing down at the floor. At first Stephen was confused but then he heard more whisperes come from the floor, only this time louder and more frantic._

_The cloaked woman held her hand out to Stephen and beckoned him to come to her. At first Stephen hesitated, could he really trust this person? There was something familiar about her but...something just seemed to be a little off. But in the end he decided that he didn't have much of a choice. If he wanted to leave this place he would have to play this game. So he nodded and was about to walk towards her when she began descending into the floor. He was about to say something but froze when he felt himself descending as well. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them he found himself in the darkened room of a damp basement. He looked over to the doorway on his right and saw the cloaked woman there, once again beckoning him to come._

_He gulped a little before complying, slowly making his way over to her. But as soon as he was within a few inches of her she vanished. Stephen looked around surprised before he heard a small cry come from down the new hallway and turned his head towards where it came from. He didn't move until he heard another cry for help, in which he was able to decipher exactly that it was coming from his left. He ran down the hall into another room, only it was lit by the little sunlight coming through a small window facing west. In the room he saw four shadowed figures. One was chained to the wall and the other three were standing over him facing each other, as if they were arguing. Then one of the three shadowed figures slapped the chained shadowed figure across the face. But that wasn't the strange part, the strange part was that Stephen actually_ felt _the slap himself and it actually knocked his head to the side. He rubbed his cheek astonished and looked back to the shadowed figures, but something had changed._

_The shadowed figure that was chained to the wall was no longer a shadow, but a solid person. But not just any person...it was him! Stephen's eyes became wide and he gasped, backing up a little at seeing himself. The other him looked up at the three shadowed figures, his eyes filled with anger and even...a little fear? Actually come to think about it there was something off about his other self, like something had changed. Not emotionally...but more so physically. One of the shadowed figures was about to kick his other self in the gut but his other self screamed and curled into a ball. Just then Stephen himself felt pain explode in his gut, causing him to double over on the ground and hold his stomach._

_"What...is this?"_

_The world around him changed and when he laid on his back he saw that he was outside again in the field, and standing over him was the cloaked woman. It almost seemed like she was looking at him with pity and before it all went black she said "You scratch my back I'll scratch yours." in a soft voice._

* * *

Stephen's eyes snapped open and he shot up from his laying position on his bed panting. The pain in his stomach had stopped and he looked around, he was back in his room. He sighed in relief and wiped his forehand, now realizing that he was sweating.

_"That was a weird dream..." _Stephen thought to himself. _"...what does it mean? Who was that girl? Who were those people and why did they have me there? Also..."_

Stephen rested a hand on his stomach area and rubbed it a little._ "What was that pain? I've never felt anything like that before..."_

He sighed again and ran a hand over his face. _"Well I hope that was just a weird dream, but something inside me can't help but feel that it was some kind of omen..."_

He was brought out of his thoughts by a tapping on his window. He looked over and saw that it was night time and figured that the tapping might be his friend the bird. He narrowed his eyes at the window, he didn't see a bird, not even an animal. Then he heard the tapping sound again, only this time it was very brief.

"What the hell?" Stephen said under his breath as he made his way over to the window.

When he got closer he heard someone whistling, but it didn't sound like a bird, it sounded like...a person. He waited for another tap before opening his window and looking down only to be shocked. Standing outside his window was the one and only John, whistling and getting ready to throw another pebble when he saw Stephen and paused. They stared at each other (Stephen being shocked) before Stephen shook his head and looked closer at John, wondering if he was actually there before speaking.

"John...is that you? What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Stephen whispered loud enough so that John could hear him.

John dropped the pebbles he was holding before gesturing behind him to Checkmate, who was standing not too far behind him. "Checkmate showed me the way and I really need to talk to you. Can I come up?"

Stephen looked over at Checkmate for a moment before looking back at John. The last thing he needed was having John in the house where anyone could come in and find him, plus he wasn't sure how John would react to his living conditions.

"No you can't come up, but I'll come down." Stephen whispered to John.

John gave him a nod and Stephen told him to wait a moment before turning back into his room. Stephen checked to see if his door was locked before he took out his homemade rope and tying it to his bed post before throwing it down out his window. John backed up a little when he saw the rope come down and watched Stephen climb down with ease, as if he's done this many times before. As soon as Stephen's feet his the ground he sighed and stretched, not noticing John's eyes spark with interest as he did. He turned to John and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You wanted to talk to me, fella?" Stephen said, a little curious to why John was staring at him like that.

John blinked and snapped out of his temporary daze and shook his head a little to possibly shake his thoughts. "Yeah...but not here."

John turned and walked towards Checkmate, Stephen following him. John hoisted himself up onto Checkmate and then offered a hand to Stephen. Stephen stared at it for a moment before taking it, letting out a yelp of surprise as he was pulled up onto the horse and seated right behind John. John chuckled a little and turned back to Stephen.

"Hold on tight, this horse can go pretty fast when he wants to." John said with a small smirk playing on his face.

Stephen nodded and slowly wrapped his arms around John, both of them fighting the urge to blush at the contact. Once John felt that Stephen was well situated he signaled for Checkmate to run by patting his neck. As soon as Checkmate got the word he took off towards town. Stephen held onto John a little tighter, a little frightened by the sudden fast movement. John couldn't help but smile, half from the pride that came from his horse and the other from the happy feeling he got from Stephen holding onto him like that. Honestly he half hoped that the ride would never end, but alas Checkmate was indeed a fast horse so they got to their destination in no time. When they came to a stop Stephen let his grip on John fall as he looked up at the some-what large building they were next to. He recognized this building...it was an inn just on the outer rim of town. It wasn't as popular as the ones farther into town, but it looked nice enough. But really Stephen wouldn't know, he's never been in it.

He felt John move and saw John slide down off of Checkmate, once again offering Stephen a hand. Stephen took it and jumped off of Checkmate, but when his feet hit the ground he stumbled a little but John caught him. He quickly stood firmly on his own two feet and let go of John's hand, trying not to notice the small spark of disappointment in John's eyes as he did.

"So...this is where we're gonna talk, fella?" Stephen asked, looking at the inn.

John nodded. "Yeah...not outside of course, but inside the actual inn."

John walked towards the entrance with Stephen following close behind him. They walked right past the front desk and up the stairs that lead to the rooms. The inn seemed almost empty except for a few travelers so it was mostly quiet and even a little dark. They both walked to the second to top floor and John stopped at a door, taking out a key and unlocking it. He held the door open for Stephen and gestured for him to go in first. Stephen complied and walked in, taking a few seconds to take in his surroundings. The room was small but bigger than his own. In the far left corner was a small table with three chairs around it and the wood floor had a large red and yellow rug on it. Right next to him was a queen sized bed with two throw pillows and a dark red comforter. He heard the door close behind him and turned towards John. John gestured for him to sit on the bed and they both did, only they sat a good distance away from each other. They were both nervous, but John was as nervous as fuck.

He had been thinking about Stephen all day and about what happened between them the night before. Now because of that he had realized that he had fallen in love with Stephen. At first he thought it was ridiculous but then he realized that it must have been destiny. He once heard from a visitor in the palace that when we are born we are connected to someone by a red string, that red string represents that those two people are destined to be lovers, a lot like soul mates. The string could get tangled and matted up, but it would never be broken. John thought that maybe, just maybe, that he and Stephen might be attached to each other by a red string. But he couldn't be sure.

John cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um...about yesterday," John began "...I guess I have some explaining to do."

Stephen nodded and looked at John, waiting.

John looked at Stephen and gulped a little before continuing. "I've done a lot of thinking and...well...I wasn't sure exactly what was going on in my mind until earlier today. I guess I should tell you that I think about you all the time and whenever I'm conscious of it I get this warm feeling in my chest. Now before I tell you something that will probably affect our relationship on a huge level I should tell you that...my last name is Cena."

Stephen's eyes widened. If John's last name was Cena then...that meant...that he was..._royalty. _John looked at Stephen's shocked face with a sad smile. "Yep, I'm the prince. Now you might be wondering why I'm here instead of being inside the palace being waited on hand and foot. Well my answer is...I don't like it. It may seem nice but over time it gets really dull and even annoying at times, so I began sneaking out to explore...though the farthest I've been is to your house. Which reminds me..."

John turned to face Stephen fully, now with a raised eyebrow. "From what I could tell from the outside is that your room is in the attic. That looked like a pretty nice house and you don't look like you're part of the lower class...so is it OK if I ask what's up?"

Stephen looked at John even more shocked than before. How could John have figured out that much already? Sure he wasn't just any servant but any normal person would have just let it be! Then again...John wasn't just any normal person. He was kind, compassionate, handsome, and everything someone would want in another person. Perhaps that's why at that moment Stephen realized that he had fallen in love with John Cena, the prince. The thought actually scared him a little. He had never felt this kind of love for anyone other than his parents, but there was something much different about this love. He felt himself begin to panic a little too. He never had let anyone into his world of loss and pain and had even done his best to hide it, and now that his plan had failed he didn't know what to do. He felt himself begin to shake a little and he bit his lip and screwed his eyes shut to stop himself from crying. He felt John put a hand on his shoulder but he shook it off and curled into himself, facing away from John.

"Stephen...what's wrong?" He heard John ask in a soft voice.

Stephen didn't know why...but he felt something inside him snap and he felt anger and hurt over take. "What's wrong with me?! I'll tell you what's wrong with me! After my mother died I've spent the rest of my fucking life under the fucking boot and the fucking bastard she married just because she was sick!"

Stephen gripped his hair as if he wanted to pull it out as he felt tears begin to form in his eyes, but he kept his eyes closed to prevent them from flowing. "That fucking bastard has had that damn vice grip on me just so he can get my fucking money! He forces me to scrub the floors and kiss his sons arses or he'll never show me the fucking will my mother left for me! I've tried to look for it but when I was caught that fucking bastard would lock me up in my fucking room with nothing!"

Stephen felt himself go slightly limp and he opened his eyes, feeling tears begin to flow down his cheeks as he spoke in a softer and much more broken voice. "Do you know what that's like? Do you know what it's like to know that the last person who loved you is gone and that you'll never have a future? It's been like for that for about as long as I can remember."

Stephen sighed a little, not bothering to wipe away the tears from his face. "Look...you're obviously higher up than me, and now that you know I won't blame you if you decide to get up and..."

He was cut off by John turning him around and pulling Stephen into a tight embrace. Stephen stiffened at the touch at first until John spoke.

"I'm so sorry about what you've gone through...I really am. I wish I could do something to change it, but you can't change the past. But there's something that you should know...there's another person in this world who loves you."

Stephen took in a slow breath as a some-what gasp before relaxing into the embrace, returning it as well. John backed up a little and they gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before John leaned in and closed the gap between them with a kiss. At first it was soft and innocent but it quickly grew more passionate as John poured all of his emotions into that kiss. Stephen felt John's tongue slide across his bottom lip asking for entrance. Stephen opened his mouth and moaned as he felt John's tongue slide into his mouth. John quickly became addicted to the sweet and exotic taste Stephen had as he ravished that mouth before he felt Stephen's tongue push against his. John smirked a little as they engaged in a battle for dominance, ending when they felt as if their lungs were about to burst. They separated from each other panting and staring at each other. John smiled at Stephen and gave him another long kiss before he moved to get up. He stopped himself when he felt a hand grip the fabric of his shirt. He looked down at Stephen with a confused expression to see the red-head gripping at his shirt but also looking down with a blush on his face.

"Hey John..." Stephen whispered.

"What is it?"

Stephen took in a shaky breath and gripped John's shirt even more. "When you said that someone loved me...you meant that it was you...right?"

John nodded. "Yes, I love you Stephen."

Stephen was silent for a moment before looking up at John with almost a bold expression on his face. "Then show me."

At first John was unsure by what exactly Stephen meant but when he looked into the other's intense eyes he figured it out. Stephen wanted John to love him...as in _make __love_ to him. John looked at Stephen shocked for a moment. Sure John had (regrettingly) done it before but he knew that this time it would be much different. This was a person that he was truly madly deeply in love with. But when he saw Stephen's face fall even a little he made his decision, and pounced. He knocked Stephen back onto the bed and began kissing him with all the passion he could muster. Stephen kissed him back and wrapped his arms around John's neck, moaning as he felt John rest himself between his legs. He had never done this before, so he was a little scared. but deep down he knew that John would try to be gentle with him because John didn't want to hurt Stephen at all, even though what they were about to do would cause Stephen a little pain.

John quickly discarded Stephen's shirt and separated from him to pull it over his head and tossed it across the room. John propped himself up on his hands to gaze at Stephen's bare chest before leaning down and began sucking on Stephen's collar bone. Stephen moaned at the action and gripped at John's shirt again. John smirked and kissed the mark he had made before kissing his way back up to Stephen's lips, giving him another long kiss before taking off his own shirt and tossing it across the room as well. As John kissed him Stephen ran his hands down John's toned chest and abs, loving how he felt John shiver as he continued to touch him. Stephen jumped a little when he felt John's hands at the waistband of his pants. John stopped kissing him for a moment and looked down at Stephen seriously.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" John asked, whispering in the dark.

Stephen took in a shaky breath before nodding. John nodded in return, lowering his head to Stephen's neck. "If you want to stop just tell me."

At first John slowly began pushing Stephen's pants down, but when he heard Stephen moan and even buck a little he wasted no time in ridding Stephen of his pants and boxers. Stephen gasped at the sudden cold he felt when John finally took off all of his cloths, but felt his face heat up at the way John was looking at him. John looked up and down Stephen captivated by his naked form, from his bare chest down to his hips and thighs. The best part was that it was all his. That thought made John even harder than he already was just looking at Stephen. He looked up to Stephen's face and chuckled at the blush he had on his face. John reach his hand over and caressed Stephen's face, giving him a quick kiss.

"You're beautiful you know..." John whispered, making Stephen blush even more.

Stephen heard a drawer open and what sounded like a bottle popping open. John was squeezing out some lubricant onto his fingers, and Stephen knew exactly what it was for. John positioned his fingers at Stephen's entrance and looked up at him.

"Are you ready? This might hurt at first."

Stephen took a deep breath before nodding, preparing himself for what was to come. He jumped when he felt cool slick fingers trace his entrance and push into him. He screwed his eyes shut and cringed at the pain he felt from the intruders. John slid his fingers inside Stephen a little more before he kept them still so that Stephen could adjust to the feeling as he softly kissed him to ease the pain. Once he saw Stephen's face relax he moved the first finger around a little before adding a second and third, doing a scissoring motion to stretch out the tight cavern.

_"So he really is a virgin..." _John thought to himself. _"I wonder what it'll fee like when I'm inside."_

He blushed at the thought and and began licking and nipping at Stephen's neck, looking for his sensitive spots that would make him go wild. He licked at a particular spot and hears Stephen moan the loudest. He smirked and began sucking and biting down on that spot, his smirk growing wider as he felt Stephen squirm as he made another deep love bite. Once he decided that Stephen was prepared enough he slid his fingers out of Stephen. John took off his pants and boxers and wrapped Stephen's legs around his waist. He gazed into Stephen's eyes, looking for any possible objection. When he saw none he nodded, silently letting Stephen that he was going to enter him. He saw a hint of fear in Stephen's eyes, but knew that was just natural as he slowly pushed himself into Stephen's tight entrance. Stephen immediately tightened around John, gripping at his shoulders at the weird feeling. John completely sheathed himself into Stephen before pausing, once again letting Stephen get used to the feeling, kissing him and whispering comforting words to possibly help. John took both of Stephen's hands into his and entwined their fingers together, still kissing him sweetly.

"Just relax..." John whispered.

Stephen did what John had instructed him to do and did his best to relax his muscles, immediately feeling a difference. As soon as Stephen nodded to John letting him know that he was ready John began to move inside of Stephen. At first it was still a little painful but over enough time the pain turned into pleasure for both of them. John tried his best to take it slowly but he soon became lost inside of Stephen, gradually going faster. He wasn't exactly sure how long Stephen would last seeing how this was his first time but the way Stephen moaned and squirmed underneath him was making him begin to feel the end in his gut. But he was determined to make Stephen come before he did, so each time he thrust inside of Stephen he re-aimed himself, trying to find that sweet spot that he knew would make Stephen scream his name.

He thrust in again and he felt Stephen tighten around him as he cried out. John smirked and re-positioned himself so that he would only hit that spot. Sure enough he had Stephen panting and squirming even more and moaning his name. John knew that Stephen was close as well as he was so he slammed into Stephen with all his might. He felt Stephen tighten around him even more and heard him scream his name as he came all over their stomachs. John felt himself come and moaned as he released his seed deep inside Stephen, collapsing onto Stephen panting. Neither of them moved for several minutes until John pulled out of Stephen and reached for his shirt, wiping Stephen's cum off of both of them before pulling the comforter out from underneath them. He wrapped them both up with the comforter and held Stephen close, taking the opportunity to stroke Stephen's hair. They didn't say anything because they didn't need to, snuggling up into each other's warmth as they fell asleep.

**Oh God how did I do on the sex scene? This is my second time writing smut so please be gentle with the reviews! Sorry for the sudden rating change but a certain some *coughYaYucough* gave me a certain idea. Oh thank you YaYu for the feed back on the sex scene and I hope that this was satisfying! I can't wait for some of that LB smut...please? *puppy dog eyes* Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	5. All Good Things Must Come to an End

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN! What shit is going to go down well…you'll just have to read and find out! Sorry for the long wait though. I can't say that I've been lazy because I've been typing and publishing one-shots and working on part 2 of AOAA (Anthem of an Angel) which is going to be ridiculously long seeing how it covers so much, oi T_T. But anyways I'm here right now and that's what matters! Now I'm probably going to feel like I rushed this because I mainly need/want to get to a specific part so please forgive me ahead of time. Oh and YaYu if you're reading this PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE UPDATE LB! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! Enjoy!**

Chapter 5: All Good Things Must Come to an End

John grumbled a little as he felt the sunlight hit his face. He tried to move his arm over his face to possibly block the sunlight from his eyes but stopped when he realized that they were currently occupied. He smiled when the memories of last night flooded into his mind and opened his eyes. He was greeted with the sight of a sleeping Stephen, smiling even more at how his hair was messy. John propped himself up on his elbow and took a moment to just stare at Stephen before he decided that it would be best if he got up out of bed.

He moved slowly so that he wouldn't wake up Stephen and found his pants right next to the bed on the floor. He chuckled a little as he reached down and grabbed them, slipping them on before really getting out from underneath the covers. The floor felt a little chilly under his bare feet, but he didn't mind. He stood up and stretched out his arms, getting all of the kinks out of his muscles before walking over to the other side of the room to get his shirt. He was about to put it on when he realized that it was kinda sorta dirty. He laughed a little bit and put it back on the floor, he could probably get a new shirt later on before he returned home. He gathered up Stephen's cloths and put them at the foot of the bed so that they would be there for when his ginger angel woke up.

He heard some stirring and looked over to Stephen, seeing the other man move a little before lifting his head up off of the pillow and looking around with a tired look in his eyes. John smiled, he thought that Stephen just looked so adorable in the morning, even with bed head. He hoped that he would be able to see that every day for the rest of his life.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." John said jokingly.

Stephen jumped a little and turned his head towards John, but relaxed when he saw who it was. Stephen sat up and stretched a little before yawning and rubbing one of his eyes (which John also found adorable).

"Mornin' to ya too fella, how long have you been up?" Stephen asked, sleep still lingering in his voice.

John shrugged. "Only a few minutes, maybe more. How do you feel?"

Stephen looked at John slightly confused and was about to ask when he shifted and froze, eyes widening slightly. Slowly, he lifted up the covers a little so that he could peak under them but soon after he did he dropped the comforter and blushed a deep red. John chuckled at Stephen, having a good idea of what was going through his mind. He had thought that last night was some crazy dream but just realized it wasn't. But John didn't blame him for acting the way he was. After all it _was_ Stephen's first time so he isn't really sure how to handle all this. John hoped that he would be able to change that real soon.

Stephen pouted at John when he heard him chuckling, but that just made John want to kiss him. So John leaned over and captured those lips he already loved so much in a sweet kiss. But slowly it became more passionate and even though John loved kissing his beautiful ginger he had to stop himself short. If they continued like this they would probably go at it again and John wanted to give Stephen some recovery time. He heard Stephen whimper a little when he pulled away from the sweet kiss.

John smiled at Stephen and playfully tapped his nose. "Easy there tiger, we should probably wait a little longer before going at it again, for your sake."

John winked at Stephen, making the other man blush and roll his eyes. John got up from the bed and handed Stephen his cloths. Stephen nodded and mumbled a thank you and slipped on his boxers underneath the sheets, which was also understandable because there was always going to be that awkward phase when someone outside of your family sees you naked. He slipped out from under the sheets and pulled his pants and shirt on, which were pretty wrinkled from laying on the floor all night. Stephen knew that he really should be panicking right now seeing how it was already this late in the morning but Paul wasn't due back from his trip yet so he should be relatively safe.

Actually the reason Stephen wasn't panicking was for John's sake. Sure Stephen had never done this before but he couldn't help but feel that if he left just like that it might hurt John's feelings. Then again….John already knows about his _situation _so he might understand. Plus it wasn't like John was supposed to be here either. He was the prince so you would generally think that he should be back in the palace, but Stephen guessed that seeing hoe he was in fact the _prince_ he had a few more privileges than most men did in this day in age. But still…..he really had to go, but at the same time he didn't want to. He knew that John really couldn't do much about what Paul was doing because that would require evidence and the only evidence that Stephen could think of was his mother's will. If only he could find it…

Stephen was brought out of his thoughts by John gently grabbing his ankle. Stephen jumped a little and looked down, seeing John slip one of his shoes onto his foot. Stephen blushed a little as John glanced up at him with a smile before repeating the same action with his other shoe, promptly tying them both.

"I know that you have to go," John said, his gaze directed to the laces on Stephen's shoes. "…I understand, I really do. I hate to tell you this but I can't do much about the way you're being treated unless it's witnessed by someone outside of the household. I could easily tell someone but then my parents would find out that I was sneaking out to see you and we wouldn't be able to be together anymore, and that's the last I'm sure both of us want to happen."

John finished tying the shoes and looked up at Stephen, taking his hand in his. "I don't know when I'll be able to see you again, but…"

John leaned forward and began sucking on Stephen's neck. Stephen jumped and blushed a little, but allowed John to continue the action, almost getting lost in the feeling of John's mouth on his skin. When John pulled away there was a brand new mark ever so prominent on Stephen's neck.

"….it will be before that mark disappears, I promise." John winked at Stephen, making the other man blush more.

Stephen bit his lip a little before sighing and nodding. "Alright John, I believe you. But you could've just told me that you would see me soon instead of giving me another hickey, you know."

John laughed at Stephen and gave him a quick kiss. "Now what fun would that be?"

Stephen tried not to smile but with the way John was looking at him the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. John laughed again and stood up, offering Stephen a hand. Stephen took it and was pulled up into an embrace from John. Of course Stephen returned the embrace, reveling in the feeling of someone holding him like this before he lets his arms fall slack and he pulled out. They stared into each other's eyes for a few minutes before John leaned in and gave Stephen a kiss before nodding to the door.

"You should go…." John said, sadness laced in his voice.

Stephen simply nodded and walked over to the door. He grasped the nob for a moment, glancing behind him one more time before he opened the door and left, leaving John alone. John barely heard the door click as he slumped back onto the bed, the only thing on his mind being Stephen. He wanted to help his lover, he really did. But with telling came risks. He parents were kind but if they found out that he had sex with another man that would turn off all of the princesses that his parents had picked out for him. Now john might just be over-thinking things but some of the princesses might become angry and try to hurt Stephen. It seemed unlikely, but he didn't rule that out. Plus if his parents found out about him and Stephen they would probably try to stop them from seeing each other.

John loved Stephen with all his heart and soul and John was Stephen's only escape and source of happiness. Again John might just be over thinking things but if Paul found out that Stephen had sex period he might hurt Stephen. His lover hadn't mentioned anything about physical abuse and he hadn't seen any bruises but you never know. John sighed and rubbed his eyes with his palm, this was all just really complicated wasn't it? He heard a knock on the door and figured that it might be a cleaning lady so he went over and opened it. But instead he was met with a huge fist connecting with his head. He hit the floor with a loud thud and before he blacked out he saw two huge brown boots near his line of vision.

Stephen ran as fast as he could through the town and over the hill so he was barely able to register his surroundings. He stopped running when he got to where the window to his room was supposed to be and leaned on the house, panting. But something wasn't right, something was missing. Once his vision cleared he saw that his rope was nowhere to be seen. He could have sworn his heart stopped when he realized that his rope was gone. Maybe it fell off? No, he didn't see it anywhere on the ground. He looked up to his window and saw that it was closed. His window could only be closed if someone was in his room, which meant that someone had gone up in his room and closed it themselves.

Just as he felt panic wash over him someone hit him from behind, making him fall to the ground. He wasn't even given time to groan before his attacker pulled him up by his hair and held his arms behind him. Actually he felt six hands hold him back, which meant instead of it just being one attacker it was three attackers. Well isn't that just grand. They pulled him to his feet and he felt himself being gagged and his hands being tied up. One of his attackers punched him in the face, making his vision more blurry before they half push half dragged him off to…..somewhere. He heard a door open and he felt a slight breeze before his attackers pushed him forward again. They only pushed him forward a few steps before they let go of him and he fell onto a smooth, cold floor. At first there was silence but then Stephen heard a light tapping, like someone walking on a marble floor. Once the tapping stopped one of his attackers grabbed him by the hair and forced him up onto his knees and made him look at a person in front of them. Although this wasn't just any person, Stephen knew that even before his vision became clear again. He felt a small wave of fear and panic fall over him as he saw the face of his guardian and possible warden, _Paul Heyman._

_John forced his eyes open, spots of black swimming in his vision. Where was he? He tried to move his limbs but found that his wrists and ankles were tied down. He was tied to a stone table of some sort. He heard whispers coming from all around and tried to see who or what it was, but his vision was so spotty he could see anything._

Stephen hoped that no one heard him squeak at the way Paul was looking at him. Usually Paul just looked at him like a piece of meat but now….there was this evil and twisted look in his eyes that sent a shiver down Stephen's spine. Paul took another step forward, making a tsking sound and shaking his head at Stephen.

"Stephen, Stephen, Stephen..." He said with a dark and annoyed tone to his voice. "...I'm really disappointed in you. Sneaking out at night...working for someone other than me? Very disappointing. Now you must be wondering a few things, like why I'm here and how I found out. Well to answer your first one while I was on the road I was stopped by a fortune teller and she told me the most...interesting things. Now of course I thought it was ridiculous but it just kept nagging at my mind. So I turned around and came home to..."

He paused for a moment before leaning forward and looking directly into Stephen's eyes. "...to find that she was right. Well...so far. The other things she told could never happen in a million—"

Paul stopped short when he saw the mark on Stephen's neck. He looked at it with horror before his gaze darkened to fury and he stood up straight again. If Stephen could take in a shaky breath he would have, but seeing how his mouth was gagged he wasn't able to. After a few minutes of denial running through Paul's head he pointed at the mark with a shaky finger.

"Where _exactly _did you get _that_?" Paul asked/demanded through clenched teeth.

_The weird whispering became a chant that John could only recognize to be black magic. He tried to free himself, but stopped when he felt a searing pain begin to rip through his brain and he cried out in pain. His vision was now surrounded by a dark mist. It swirled around him before seeping into his head. But that wasn't the scary part, the scary part was when he felt the mist working inside his head._

Stephen would have looked a Paul with a look that said "Are you serious?" if he wasn't panicking inside. Paul reached, making Stephen flinch a little, and ripped the gag out of his mouth.

"Tell me where you got that now!" Paul yelled.

Stephen looked up at Paul, his gaze now darker and glared at him for a moment before spitting on Paul's suit, an obvious no. Paul's face turned red and he did the last thing that Stephen expected him to. He slapped Stephen clean across the face.

"YOU LITTLE WHORE YOU'VE RUINED EVERYTHING!" Paul yelled as Stephen began to feel his cheek burn, frozen in shock to do anything about it. "IF YOU JUST STAYED HERE LIKE A GOOD LITTLE BITCH THEN EVERYTHING WOULD HAVE WORKER OUT FOR ME! YOU KNOW YOU COULD HAVE ESCAPED RIGHT? I WAS GOING TO MARRY YOU OFF TO THAT SLUT AJ BUT NOW THAT I KNOW THAT SHE'S BEEN HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH DOLPH AND THAT _YOU'VE _BEEN DEFILED BY ANOTHER _MAN _I CAN'T DO THAT! YOU JUST CHEATED ME OUT OF SO MUCH MONEY YOU SLUT!"

It looked like Paul was going to kick Stephen in the gut but for some reason he stopped, this shocked look appearing on his face before it became sly again and he became composed again, which Stephen found strange. Paul looked over to one of Stephen's attackers and nodded. Stephen heard a sharp sound in the air before Paul looked at Stephen again with a twisted and evil look on his face again.

_At first he didn't know what they were doing until he his memories of Stephen flash before his eyes. At first they were comforting but he panicked when he realized that they were fading. He desperately tried to fight it, but the magic was too strong._

"_NO!" he screamed "STOP THIS! DON'T DO THIS TO ME PLEASE!"_

"Yes, I caught AJ with Dolph and I was going to rat her out to her parents. But she burst into tears and confirmed to me what that fortune teller had said. But don't worry, you won't be seeing her any time soon. Of course it seems that now Dolph hates me but I don't really care. Now I don't know who your little boyfriend is but I hired someone to track him down."

Paul snickered at the shocked look on Stephen's face.

"That's right, as we speak his memory is being wiped of your existence. He won't recognize you, your voice, or even your name. It will be like he never met you. Now I could do the same to you but you're far too stubborn plus I want you to suffer for cheating me out of my new fortune. Plus this will be like a lesson for you to never disobey me again. I could also kill you or beat you but I still plan to..." he looked up and down Stephen "...use you and your uniqueness. Now you'll probably be broken for a little while but just to be safe I am going to hire someone to guard you night and day. Any freedom you thought you had left is now gone, and thanks to your little screw up I can finally do what I've wanted to do for a long time."

Paul turned away from him and waved his hand, ordering his attackers to take him away. At first Stephen was frozen in shock….but now he had nothing to lose. As his attackers dragged him away he spit out the worst curses he would think of at Paul, only receiving a chuckle from the twinkie-tited walrus bastard. Stephen would have beaten Paul to a pulp but he was tied back. He cursed all the way up to his room before his binds were cut and he was roughly pushed in, the door slamming shut and being locked. He turned towards his window, but it was no use. It was boarded shut. Shakily, Stephen pulled himself up onto his bed and curled up into a ball. He didn't bother in trying to stop himself from crying, he just lost his freedom and possibly the love of his life. For once, he felt that he deserved to cry.

_John pulled at his bindings desperately until his wrists began to bleed. Even though he knew that it was a hopeless effort, he tried to fight the dark magic. But it was no use. Just as his last memory of the man he loved so much began to fade he cried out one last name._

"_STEPHEN!"_

**DUN DUUN DUUUUUUUN! OH SUGAR HONEY ICE TEA! I honestly wanted to make this chapter longer due to the time it took me to update...(random thought) oh but if I did then the story wouldn't make sense! So….has anyone figured anything out yet? Like about Stephen or John or future events? Just wondering if any of you are suspicious about anything. Was the chapter intense enough? It was kinda meant to be but I don't know how I did. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	6. You don't look like a Fairy Godmother

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Sorry for the late update but I wasn't sure how this chapter should kick off but thanks to a random guy in my art class I finally figured it out! So now chapter 6 of Shinderella is on its way! Oh good news my glasses FINALLY came in so I can see clearly now~! When I first put them on it was at my sister's chorus concert which was in my old middle school and I was trippin'. I ran around the entire school chasing my 2 year old nephew and seeing my old classrooms clearly. It was amazing~! But enough about me, let's get to the thing that you all came here for. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6: You don't look like a Fairy Godmother

Stephen stared at the polished floors of the main foyer for a few more moments before brushing over his reflection with a scrubber. With lifeless eyes, he gazed over to his bodyguard/babysitter Big-E. He was a large black man who could probably fling Stephen around like a rag doll if he let him. Ever since Paul caught him sneaking out and said those...awful things to him Stephen has been much like a dead body. He no longer made any facial expressions around other people, he only spoke when he had to answer a question in yes or no, and he only ate when forced to (which oddly seemed to be a lot). Now he spent most of his free time sleeping or just curled in a ball up in general, only feeling a little happiness when he played the memories of the man he loved in his head and only feeling comfort from the necklace his parents gave him. Sometimes he would wonder how John was handling this but then he would remember that Paul said that he had his memories of their time together wiped from his mind, which only made him fall deeper into despair.

Even though Dolph hated Paul now he didn't do much to help Stephen. Sure when Punk was being an asshole towards Stephen he would sometimes tell him to take it easy on "the poor guy" but other than that he didn't do squat to help him. Most of the time Dolph was moping about him and AJ not being allowed to be together, but he wasn't as broken as Stephen was. Stephen heard a tapping on the floor and glanced over to the staircase. Paul, Dolph, and Punk were making their way to the door dressed in very formal clothing. Oh yeah...tonight was the big ball that was being thrown as a birthday bash for the prince. His heart ached at the thought, to him the prince was more than just a prince. He was a man named John, a man he loved with all his heart and soul. The three of them quickly walked by him except for Paul, who paused and looked down on Stephen. In exchange Stephen looked up at him with a look that was so filled with hate and resent it could kill. Paul sneered at him for a moment before looking up over to Big-E.

"Big-E, please escort Stephen to his chambers for the night. The hall is clean enough and I want him to get his sleep." Paul said superficially before continuing to walk to the door.

Stephen sighed and watched him walk away, momentarily locking gazes with Dolph. Now Stephen didn't know if he was hallucinating or not but it seemed that Dolph was actually looking at him with _pity_, as if he was trying to say that he felt sorry for him. Then again Stephen's head wasn't quite clear so it must be his imagination. Stephen looked back down at the floor as he listened to the front door click shut. Outside he heard what sounded like the whining of horses and the sound of wheels moving on gravel. After it subsided he was cast with silence until he again heard footsteps. He felt a shadow fall over him and sighed, pushing himself up onto his feet and standing up straight. Big-E pushed him forward, much like a guard would push a prisoner, causing him to stumble a little. Stephen would have yelled at the guy but he couldn't find the strength to. So he aimlessly trudged forward, his feet bringing him to his room merely by instinct.

He was roughly pushed inside his room and the door was slammed harshly shut behind him. Once he heard the all too familiar click of the lock he collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to change out of his dirty cloths. He buried his face into his pillow and slipped his hand underneath it, searching for the necklace his parents had given him. Luckily for him when Paul had his room searched his necklace hadn't been found, which was a miracle because it was the only source of comfort to him anymore. Once he felt the cool metal brush his fingers he grabbed and pulled it out from underneath the pillow and clutched it in his hands to the point where his knuckles turned white. He curled up into a ball and held it close to his chest, his whole body feeling tense but weak. Why do these things always have to happen to him? Hell why do the innocent in general have to suffer? His parents didn't deserve to die at the age they had or the way they had. John didn't deserve to go through the pain of having his memories wiped by what he assumed to be black magic. Sometimes he thinks that it would have been better if John had never met him, had never fallen in love with, had never kissed him, and had never _slept_ with him. Sure Stephen would still be going through hell and back but at least he wouldn't have caused someone else pain.

He desperately tried to clear his head of these thoughts to possibly get some sleep but something shook him out of his zone. It was a rather loud bang outside his door. At first he thought that it might have been Big-E tripping over his own feet but when he heard another bang he became curious. He slowly sat up on his bed, sliding his necklace back under his pillow as he eyed the door. There was another bang and what sounded like a low yell before it went dead silent. Stephen froze when he heard footsteps stop at his door. It was silent for a few more seconds before out of nowhere someone kicked his door down making him jump so high he fell off of his bed. He felt like he was on the brink of a heart attack as he peered over the side of his bed to see who had broken down his door and it almost made him piss his pants from fright. Standing in the doorway was a woman with thick arms, tan skin, and blonde hair that looked to be darker underneath. She was wearing a black tank top that showed off her bust, grey shorts, and black gloves that cut off at her knuckles. She stepped over the broken down door and looked around a little before her eyes fell on Stephen. He tried to duck but she still saw him.

"I know you're there Stephen, and you don't have to worry. I'm not here to harm you I'm here to help you." She said.

At first Stephen hesitated, not sure of what to do. She didn't really sound dangerous plus if she was going to hurt him she probably would have been able to do it already. So, slowly and cautiously, Stephen lifted himself up off the floor and stood up straight, still looking at this woman with wide eyes.

"W-Who are you?" Stephen asked, suppressing a gulp.

She sighed and rolled her eyes as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. "You don't know? I'm your fairy godmother."

Now Stephen was even more shocked. She was supposed to be his fairy godmother? Stephen traced her features with his eyes, not seeing any indication that she was a fairy godmother. He heard her sigh again and she stepped towards Stephen making him jump a little.

"Now you're probably thinking that I don't really look much like a typical fairy godmother. But let me tell you this mister, not every fairy godmother is all sparkly or has wings or looks like she's at death's door! By the way, I'm Kaitlyn."

Kaitlyn reached her hand out to Stephen. Not wanting to be rude and piss this girl off Stephen slowly but surely reached his hand out shook hers.

"Uh...nice to meet you, I'm—"

She raised her hand up, cutting him off. "I know who you are, and while we're having this conversation I must apologize for not getting here any sooner. I would have gotten here earlier but there seemed to be a strong presence of black magic so I was ordered to stay back until it dispersed."

Stephen's breath hitched at the mention of black magic. "So I was right...they did use black magic on John."

Kaitlyn nodded sadly. "Unfortunately yes, I wish I could tell you that he didn't suffer but...that would be a lie."

Stephen felt grief wash over him at the news that he was right about John having to deal with that kind of pain. Slowly, as if overtaken by shock and sadness, he sat on the edge of his bed as his face fell into his hands, just wanting everything around him to swallow him up. He felt some weight set itself down on the mattress next to him and jumped a little when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He seemed to be really skittish today. He looked up at Kaitlyn, only now wondering why she was here.

"It's alright Stephen, I'm here to help you." She said softly.

Stephen scoffed at Kaitlyn and pushed himself off of his bed, walking over to his boarded window. He stared at it for a little while before turning back to Kaitlyn.

"What could you possibly do? I doubt that you're allowed to change the past, right? Because right now that seems to be the only thing that can help me."

Kaitlyn sighed and shook her head at his words. Oh if only he knew what destiny had in store for him. She pushed herself off of the bed as well and stood up straight.

"You're right, I may not be able to change the past but I can help you take control of your future."

Now it was Stephen's turn to shake his head. "Is that so? How are you going to do that?"

Kaitlyn paused for a moment before reaching under Stephen's pillow and taking out the necklace. She stared at it for a few moments before looking back up at Stephen.

"You're parents gave this to you, right?" she asked, her tone hinting at something mystical.

Stephen, seeing no point in lying, nodded. She gazed at it again before she motioned Stephen over to her. Stephen decided to oblige to he wishes and walked over until he was a foot in front of him.

"Your parents really loved you, you know..." She looked back up to Stephen. "They never wanted to leave you, but their love still lives within you."

She stood up, holding the necklace in both her hands. "I'm going to help you get to the ball. Now listen and listen closely. When you get to the castle don't go through the front entrance because if you do all attention would be drawn to you, also don't tell anyone you're real name. If you need to give a name go by an alias. If you see John don't run to him, believe it or not he remembers bits and pieces of you because he fought against the black magic. When he sees you you'll be like a distant lost memory, but his feelings for you are still there so he's been really confused lately. In other words let him come to you so that he doesn't go into shock. Are we clear?"

Stephen nodded, but had another question plaguing at his mind that seemed a little ridiculous. "But...what will I wear?"

She smiled and placed the necklace around his neck. When Stephen looked down he gasped, his attire had changed. He was wearing a suit with the coat and pants looking to be a black color but when light shined onto it you could tell that it was actually a deep mystical green color. Underneath the coat was a white dress shirt and a deep red vest. When he looked at Kaitlyn shocked he saw that she was holding a white mask that had sparkling red designs.

"It is a masquerade ball, isn't it?" Kaitlyn said, smiling.

For the first time in days, a small smile grew on Stephen's lips. He took the mask from Kaitlyn and stared at it in his hands before putting it on. Kaitlyn snapped her fingers and they were suddenly outside of Stephen's window, right where John had come to talk to him and where he would sneak out. He heard a trudging behind him and looked over his shoulder to see an old friend. He smiled again and ran over to him, throwing his hands around his neck feeling the smooth soft coat of the stallion.

"Checkmate what are you doing here?" Stephen happily asked the horse.

Kaitlyn walked up behind him and patted the horse's nose. "I figured that you would need a ride, so I called him."

Stephen let go of Checkmate's neck and stroked it a couple times before looking at Kaitlyn seriously. "What's the catch? Does the magic wear off at midnight or something?"

Kaitlyn laughed and waved her hand. "Oh please, what do you think this is, Cinderella? Hell no, it wears off when you return here, which I would suggest to be before Paul and your step siblings get back."

Stephen nodded and climbed onto Checkmate's back, taking a hold of the reigns. Before he told Checkmate to run he paused.

"Um...not that I really care that much but what happened to that fella Big-E?" Stephen asked.

Kaitlyn smiled proudly and cracked her knuckles. "Don't worry, he's been taken care of."

Stephen looked at Kaitlyn with wide eyes for a moment, but quickly got over it. "Well...thank you, for everything."

Kaitlyn smiled more and gave him a thumbs up. "Hey...it's my job to give princesses their happy ending."

Stephen blushed a little before nodding at her and signaling for Checkmate tor run, heading straight towards the palace. Kaitlyn watched them go before chuckling and shaking her head at Stephen, idly wondering when he would realize that she was actually hinting at something with the whole 'princess' thing. She shrugged to herself and disappeared into the night. After all...you are royal either through marriage or blood.

**Yeah sorry that it was so short and lazy but I was kind of rushing to get this to you guys! I was a big mean bitch by leaving you off with a cliff hanger so yeah…..right now I'm typing and watching Psych on Netflix so I'm a little distracted right now. Oh just out of curiosity did anyone catch the hint near the end or know exactly what it means? Just wondering. But anywho I'll hurry up and edit this so that you guys can read this!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	7. Thoughts Lingering

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I'm sorry I took so long but I was at my mom's house for the past few days. The only reason I'm here now is because I'll be hanging out with my boyfriend tomorrow so I'm staying over at my dad's house. I am sooooo excited for WrestleMania! But I'm also a little nervous seeing how so much is at stake. I hope SheaShea, Randy, and Big Show beat the Shield but I'm trying not to get my hopes up because of what happened last time (Shield cheated). Also the whole thing with Brock Lesnar and Triple H is like AAAHHHH because of the circumstances. Also I want to see what the Undertaker will do about CM Punk. Personally I think that the Kindly Ones are following him around and torturing him for what he did on RAW. But enough of that, let's get to what you came here for! Enjoy!**

Chapter 7: Thoughts Lingering

John was still in his casual clothes as he sat by one of the palace windows, leaning on the back of a chair as he watched the sun dip below the horizon. Part of him didn't want to go to the ball tonight because of what had happened. A few days ago he had woken up on the side of a road with no shirt, no shoes, and no memory of how he got there. The royal family doctor found no traces of alcohol or any other drug in his blood but was able to decipher from the marks on his wrists and ankles that he had been restrained and that he had some head trauma. But that wasn't what was bugging him. No, it was the fact that he had these feelings that he couldn't describe. It was almost as if there was this large hole in his chest that someone could fix but he didn't know who. He had also felt like he lost something more precious to him than life itself. What he did remember only confused him even more.

In his head there was this blurry image of a person, he didn't know who but if he saw them he would probably know it was them. He remembered vaguely of what their voice sounded like and how much their laugh seemed to make his heart skip a beat. It was all so overwhelming. He didn't tell his parents about it because he knew that they wouldn't understand, but he did tell one of his advisers. The adviser who they called Booker T, didn't know what to do but just the fact that he listened was good enough for the prince. John sighed and rubbed his forehead, feeling another headache coming on. He always got one when he thought about this stuff. Normally one would think that this would cause him to just forget about it, but a piece of him didn't want to let go of whatever memory he had of the mysterious person that made the corners of his mouth twitch up. Booker T said that whenever this happened he should run whatever he knew through his head so he tried doing that.

"_My name is John Cena…" _he thought to himself. _"…my parents are the king and queen of the kingdom which makes me the prince. I'm 33…err, 34 years old. Sometimes I hate being a prince because of what comes with it, tonight my parents want me to mingle with princesses but I want to really fall in love with someone. I prefer to dress casually and I don't like to wear my crown because it's not very comfortable. I like me a good beer and I can't help but feel that it caused this whole mess."_

He heard footsteps behind him, but ignored them thinking that it was just one of the servants.

"_I have the small memory of a person, I don't know who they are or even if they're a guy or a girl but I know that they played a pretty significant role in my life. How long I knew them I don't—" _

"Yo dawg, what are you doin'?" A voice said behind him.

John sighed again and looked behind him to see none other than Booker T, dressed in his suit and tie ready for the party. John stared at him for a little while before turning his attention back to the outside.

"Sitting, is that a crime?"

He heard Booker T sigh behind him before hearing a few more footsteps and sensing that Booker T was standing right behind him.

"No, but to me it is if you're just moping around."

John scoffed a little. "I'm not moping, I'm just thinking."

"About what happened?"

John nodded, seeing no point in lying. Slowly he turned around in the chair so that he was facing Booker T, who he could see had his arms crossed in _that _way.

"What else am I supposed to do? Ever since that farmer found me on the side of the road near the woods my parents haven't even let me step one pinkie toe outside, hell I'm surprised they don't have a million guards following me around all the damn time!"

Booker T pursed his lips for a moment, still keeping himself serious. "Well maybe they're just trying to protect you."

John let out a snort of derision and leaned back in the chair, lacing his hands behind his head. "Protect me? If anything they're trying to give me cabin fever to the point where I actually want to stab someone to occupy myself!"

Booker T sighed and rubbed one of his temples. He knew John was right, he was just worried that if he said the wrong thing it'll send everyone into a frenzy. Things have been particularly tense ever since they found John and it seemed like one more needle on the ass' back would make everything collapse. Hell the king even ordered a manhunt for the person who "kidnapped" John. Booker T knew it was bullshit but didn't say anything for John's sake. He knew that John would sneak out and frankly he didn't blame the guy. The kid needed the fresh air.

"Well maybe this ball could help you find that person. You said that you would know them if you saw them and practically everyone in the kingdom and beyond will be there, so why not give it a shot?" Booker T suggested.

John was about to retort it when he thought about it for a second. Booker T was right, everyone in the kingdom would be there possibly including the person in his memories. Wait why did he even doubt it? Maybe another forgotten memory? He didn't know. But still...there was a good chance that they would be there and if he found them he could probably clear up this mess and find out what happened to him. For some reason the thought of meeting this person made his heart flutter, but again he didn't know why. But still...he had some doubts.

"What makes you think that there's a solid chance that they'll be there? I mean I don't know why I'm doubting it but there just seems to be that 'what if' feeling in the air."

Booker T narrowed his eyes in thought. It was true, there was no guarantee that whoever this person was would be there but there was a good enough chance. Besides...the reason he was there in the first place was because the king and queen told him to tell John to get ready for the ball.

"Look dawg, there may not be a 100% chance that they'll be there but there is still a chance. Can't you just give it a shot?"

John thought about it for a little while again before sighing and nodding. "I guess...but I want t be able to dress myself for god's sake, alright?"

Booker T raised his hands and backed off a little. "Hey you don't have to tell me twice, just try to wear something nice, and I don't mean a tuxedo shirt."

John, for the first time in a while, laughed a little and pushed himself off of the chair. "Don't worry Booker T, I'll try to dress sharp."

Booker T chuckled. "Yeah you better, I'll see you in the ball room. I got to go greet guests and fun official stuff like that."

John nodded and gave Booker T a lazy salute. "Good luck man."

And with that they parted ways, Booker T making his to the ballroom and John making his way to his room. Once he was at the door to his room he looked around a bit before entering as quietly as he could. The reason was because he didn't want any of the servants to know that he was there and rush to help him. His room was pretty simple for a prince. It was bigger than average but had simple marble walls like the rest of the castle and a deep maroon rug. He had a single king-sized bed with cotton sheets instead of silk, a closet filled with formal clothes he never wore, a wooden wardrobe just for kicks, and a dresser filled with the clothes he actually wore. Begrudgingly he made his way over to his closet and fished through the way too extravagant suits. Didn't he have anything formal that _wasn't _gaudy? Just as he was about to say fuck it he reached into the back of the closet and found a simple black tuxedo. Well, it was simple compared to the other garments. If he looked closely the edges of the jacket had beautiful blue designs on them that shined in the light and the fabric felt silky. Deciding that would be best, he took it off of the hanger and threw it on with a deep blue tie and a simple white dress shirt that also had a hint of orange. For shoes he had regular shiny black ones that went well with the suit. He knew that if he didn't wear some sort of accessory his parents would be on his ass, but he didn't want to wear his crown. He thought about it for a moment before an idea popped into his head and he quickly made his way over to his dresser. Technically it was an accessory but it wasn't you're normal party going jewelry. He fished through his underwear drawer until he found the small wooden case that contained one of his most valuable treasures. The reason he kept it in there was so that if someone found it and confronted him he could call them a pervert for going through his boxers. He opened the case and gently took out the chain necklace with multiple dog tags on it. Each tag had the name of one of his family members along with their basic information. It was a gift he got a while ago from his parents the one time they actually thought about what he wanted for his birthday. One day he hoped to add another tag onto it, but he knew that would have to wait. He put the necklace on, not bothering to hide it as he grabbed his mask, one that had a light orange background and blue designs on it (that went surprisingly well with his outfit) and putting it on before walking out of his room and making his way to the ballroom, not knowing what would be waiting for him there.

**Yeah it was shorter than usual but I want to start another fanfic soon, that and I'm hungry. Next chapter we'll get to the events to the ball**, **ok? The reason I decided to do this chapter was to give you an idea of what's going on in John's head and how he's feeling. Oh and the thing with the underwear drawer...I keep all my WWE DVDs in there along with my passport for the same reason. Now that I think about it it's actually a little weird keeping the DVDs in there...for obvious reasons. Now I don't know when I'll get the next chapter up but I'll do it as soon as I can. Also as I mentioned earlier I'll be starting another fanfiction! It'll be a prison theme so keep an eye out ;) Reviews are love! **

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104 **_


	8. A Promise Kept

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I am so sorry for the long update but lately I've been drifting around the LOTR and ROTG fandoms so I decided to take a little break. On the bright side I just finished watching this Thilbo Bagginsheild vid on YouTube that gave me inspiration for this chapter! Now I honestly wasn't sure how to do this chapter (which is also why I haven't updated) but I decided to suck it up and deal with it. Now I DO plan on John getting his memory back and I have three ideas on how he does which I will leave up to you, the kittens, to decide. Here are the options.**

**A) John gets his memory back when they make love for the second time.**

**B) He gets it back in an intense moment with Sheamus (ex. Sheamus begs him to remember and kisses him.) **

**C) He gets it back spontaneously. **

**Again those are the three ideas floating around in my head. Please make sure you put your vote in a review. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8: A Promise Kept

Stephen had to admit he felt a little uncomfortable. It wasn't because he was surrounded by a lot of people, he was pretty used to that from working at a bar. It was because all these people were part of the high nobility from this kingdom and the next. But what did he expect from kinda sorta sneaking out of his house aided by a fairy-godmother (who certainly didn't look like the one from Cinderella) and Checkmate. Luckily for him Checkmate had knowledge of several discrete ways to get into the palace (animals are smarter than you think) so of course Stephen had no problem with getting inside. The ballroom wasn't hard to find seeing how everyone seemed to be walking into that general direction, some in lavish gowns and suits and others in fancy servants uniforms carrying trays of food. Sometimes Stephen had to remind himself that he was also dressed up for the occasion as he looked at all the wealthy people socialize as they snacked on whatever that lemony cookie was called. Stephen sighed and scanned the room once again, still trying to get used to his surroundings.

The ballroom was probably bigger than town square, which Stephen had half expected. The ceiling was glittering with chandeliers that had, no doubt, _real _diamonds that were angled perfectly so that they reflected the light all around the room, making it seem as bright as day. All the windows were lined with deep purple curtains that showed only the best views you could get prom the palace. The marble flood had little stones that were different colors smoothed down here and there, which matched the pale blue stone walls surprisingly well. To the sides of the room pressed to the walls were lush couches and chairs for when the guests became weary of standing. Set at random places in the room were tables filled with food and drinks, some alcoholic and some that contained fruity drinks and yes, even water. Stephen snorted at the thought of these prissy rich people actually drinking _water. _Sure that was mainly a stereotype but Stephen had already come across quite a few people that cemented that theory. But Stephen knew that not all rich people were like that, after all he had John as evidence for that.

_John..._

Stephen took in a shaky breath, trying to keep himself under control. He didn't really want to admit it to himself but he was a little jumpy. He was currently standing in a corner, scanning the crowd of people that walked in through in hopes that he would see John. True, everyone was wearing a mask including himself but he had seen the guy _naked _from Christ's sake, he could probably pull John out of a crowd even if he was wearing a mask. Then again...Kaitlyn had told him specifically to let John come to him. But would John even be looking from him? Kaitlyn said that he hadn't forgotten everything but that could mean that he only remembered what he sounded like or who knows what. But he supposed it wouldn't hurt to just walk around a little. Besides, being a wall flower didn't suit him well. So he headed off in a random direction, just walking. Some peoples' gazes followed him, but again he was pretty used to it so he was able to ignore them easily.

Somehow he found himself at one of the tables that held beverages, and this particular one smelled of alcohol, and not the cheap kind. Stephen had to admit he was tempted to take a glass and just down it right then and there, but felt that he should probably keep a clear head if he wanted to keep his chances of finding John as high as they could possibly be. So he begrudgingly passed the table, doing his best to keep his gaze straight ahead. He felt someone push by him rather rudely and turned to confront them and froze. The person who shoved him was long gone but that wasn't what caught his eye. No...it was the short, tan, tiny frame dressed in a lilac colored satin ballgown with long wavy brown hair, currently facing away from him. He didn't need to see their face to know who they were though. He felt anger and hurt swell up in his chest as a million things began to race through his mind as he saw them laughing with another female guest. Before the rational part of his brain kicked in he quickly walked over to them and grabbed their tan shoulder and forced them to turn around. He did his best to keep his face from turning red by breathing heavily as he looked down to the shocked face of AJ.

It took a few seconds for her to recognize him but when she did her eyes slowly widened under her shiny pink mask that had purple outlines around the eyes. She took in a quick breath and held it before turning her head to whoever she had been talking to, whispering something to them before grabbing Stephen's arm and leading him away to an area with less people. She stopped by a shadowy window that overlooked the town from a distance, the last lights in the buildings glowing like a candle in the night. She gazed out the window and took a deep breath before turning around to face Stephen.

"What are you doing here? I thought Paul forbade you to leave the house!" AJ asked in strained whisper even though no one would be able to hear them.

Stephen had to bite the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from unloading all of his hurt feelings onto AJ. After all if she hand't said anything he wouldn't be in this mess. But deep, deep, deep down inside Stephen's heart he knew why AJ had ratted him out to Paul and partly didn't blame her for it. But still, that was less than 5% of his brain. Instead of yelling at AJ like part of him _really_ wanted to he settled with taking in a strained breath, glaring at her with intense blue eyes.

"I think I should be the one asking the questions, _AJ_. Why the fuck did you reveal my secret to Paul? You're higher up than he is so really whatever he said to you was just a bunch of empty threats. You should have just gotten off your arse and confronted your parents about you and Dolph! You're supposed to be an adult for heaven's sake! Do you know what Paul has put me through because of that? Huh?! Do you?" Stephen felt himself loosing control of the tone of his voice, and silenced himself momentarily. Now the mood surrounding Stephen became sad, depressed even. He looked down to the floor, a look of deep sadness now painted his face. "He took everything away from me...everything that I ever cared about. To make matters worse he's making me live with the fact that because of me and my feelings the one I love had to suffer with the pain of getting their memory removed by black magic..."

AJ, even more shocked by this news, looked at Stephen with sympathy and tentatively reached out to him, placing her hand gently on his arm. With his face now expressionless, Stephen looked up at her through his mask. She gulped a little before speaking.

"Stephen I...I'm sorry...I really am. I didn't realize that he would do that to you over a night job and maybe a fri..." AJ trailed off when she spotted something on Stephen's neck. It was almost faded but AJ knew that mark, it was a hickey. She looked back at Stephen, her eyes wide. "Oh my god Stephen...you...?"

Stephen nodded, knowing what she had meant to ask.

AJ's hand fell from his arm back down to her side, her jaw hanging open from shock. Honestly she didn't know whether to laugh or cry or...something else. Stephen Farrelly, one of the most serious and focused with a dash of innocence guys she knew, was no longer a virgin. She saw the look on Stephen's face and gulped a little, running a hand through her hair before clearing her throat.

"Well..." AJ began, not exactly sure how to take this news. "...I guess now I can see why Paul is being such a bitch about things." Before Stephen could respond she leaned forward towards Stephen, making him back up a little, looking him straight in the eyes with a serious expression. "Who done it?"

Stephen paused for a moment, unsure of how to answer. He knew plain and well what AJ was asking but he knew that AJ probably wouldn't like his answer. After all, she had a grudge against John, the prince, and if she found out that her kinda-sorta-not-sure-if-it-should-be-considered friend had slept with him, well...Stephen wasn't sure how she would react. Then again it wasn't like he could lie to her either. So he took in a deep breath and looked to the side with a feint blush on his cheeks.

"Erm...Prince John Cena..." He said in a low whisper to the point where even AJ could barely hear him.

But she heard him, Stephen knew that for sure. How did he know? The face she made after he said it. It was a face mixed with shock and almost anger. She backed up and little and began laughing in that weird way when someone is actually _really_ pissed off.

"John Cena? _The_ John Cena? Oh NOW I get it! So all this time there was nothing wrong with me, he just likes to shoot the other way!" AJ pressed her tongue to her cheek in an irritated way, still laughing only lighter now, and moved to turn around and walk/storm away back into the horde of people.

But before she could take two steps Stephen reached out and grabbed her wrist, not too tightly as to hurt her but tight enough to prevent her from going anywhere. She turned her gaze back to him, looking at him with a dark expression that could make any other grown man piss himself. But Stephen wasn't intimidated by it because he was mirroring that same expression.

"Look AJ..." Stephen began as calmly as he could. "I know you don't like John very much but whether you like it or not I _love _him, and even if you think he's not capable of it he loves me." This earned a scoff and eye-roll from AJ, but Stephen ignored it. "Now before you go off and tell this to everyone to possibly get back at him for breaking your heart, or whatever you think he did, I want you to think of who this would affect. Not just him, but me too. Now I don't know if we could call each other friends but you obviously care about me in some tiny way if your willing to look me in the eye after what you did. So, I'm going to ask you to keep this to yourself for a while, because whether you like it or not you and I both know that _you owe me, _big time."

They glared at each other for a little while before AJ sighed and dropped her gaze, slipping her wrist out of Stephen's grip.

"Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut. But _only _because it's you. Honestly if it were any other person I wouldn't give a shit." AJ flipped her hair behind her shoulder in a sassy way. "Now if you excuse me Mr. Farrelly I have to get back to...mingling."

And with a small polite bow she skipped off (to the best of her ability) and disappeared into the crowd. Stephen sighed and shook his head at AJ, letting out a small chuckle. She was certainly a rebel, he knew that. He had his doubts as to whether AJ would actually live up to her words but decided not to let that plague his mind as he turned to look out the window. The sun had set a while ago and the moon and stars were making their appearance in the sky. The light from the moon reflected off of the trees, roads, and even a few carriages that were parked near the castle gates. Stephen couldn't help but wonder which carriage Paul and his step-siblings had come in. Actually he had half a mind to find out which one it was and to go vandalize it. Sure that was illegal but after all these years Stephen saw it as a bit of payback, even if it was just a rental. He chuckled to himself at the thought, letting a small smile creep up onto his lips.

He closed his eyes and let himself get absorbed into the chatter of all the other guests along with the tapping of heels on the floor. That sound made him have mixed feelings now a days. The last few times he had heard that sound things weren't very pleasant for him. The tapping became louder so he assumed that someone was just walking by him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He was about to turn to the person and ask them what they wanted when they spoke, making him freeze on the spot.

"Um...excuse me..." The voice sounded nervous and unsure of itself, but Stephen recognized it immediately.

Slowly, Stephen turned his head and bit back a half gasp half sob as his intense blue eyes met the softer blue eyes that he loved so much. Even though they were there Stephen didn't see the mask or the suit, he just saw the face of the man he loved so much words couldn't describe it. It was John. Stephen moved so that he was fully facing John, using every fiber of his existence not to throw himself into John's arms and kiss the life out of him. He saw something spark in John's eyes but wasn't able to tell what it was when a second later it was blinked away. It was then that John seemed to realize his lingering touch and slid his hand back down to his side, blushing a little. Stephen had to admit, it was a little weird seeing John dressed so formal. Whenever he had seen John that man was always dressed casually in shorts, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. It wasn't that Stephen minded seeing John all dressed up, actually he looked pretty sharp and...well..._sexy_. Stephen stopped himself from his mind going too far into the gutter before he gulped a little and somehow found his voice.

"Yeah, fella?" He said as normally as possible.

Again, something seemed to spark in John's eyes, but just as before it was blinked away. "Um...I was just wondering...have we met before?"

Stephen, unsure of what to do, just shrugged.

John 'hmmed' a littler before narrowing his eyes in a curious manor, as if trying to remember something. "I'm John...could you tell me your name?"

Stephen was about speak when he realized that Kaitlyn had told him to go by an alias. Shit, he had to think of something quick before John became suspicious. He searched his mind for something before he remembered his grandfather, his father's father who had died before he was born. He had always been curious about him but his parents never really talked about him. So he thought, why the hell not?

Flashing a soft smile, Stephen answered. "Sheamus, my name is Sheamus."

**DID YOU GUYS SEE WHAT I DID THERE? I hope you did...it's kind of obvious. I apologize if there are any grammar mistakes** **but I wanted to get this to you guys quickly seeing how its been so long. Also just because I was able to see my first WrestleMania LIVE (was finally able to save up enough money for the PPV). If I had to pick a favorite match it would have to be The Undertaker vs CM Punk. I mean I LOVED Triple H vs Brock Lesnar and Rock vs Cena but I was so happy that Undertaker is now 21-0 it made my night. It made me feel a lot better after that BS with The Shield and Big Show. Well I better start editing. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**


	9. Broken Memories

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Sorry for the long wait but after about 10 years my dad actually started _caring _about my grades after my mom called him about my really shitty report card with concerns. Actually scratch that...he doesn't really care that much. He just used my horrible grades as an excuse to ground me from the computer during the week so that he can play his stupid computer games (not WOW, some stupid Facebook app where he rules the world) and talk to his Filipino girlfriend who by the way is about as old as my older sister. I don't know about you guys but I suspect either money or a green card, and he already sent her like $75 for a fucking camera when he won't even give me $2 for a bottle of water. Makes me question who he really cares about. Not only that, but me and my sister found lacy women's underwear in our dryer so I suspect that he's fucking someone on the side. Isn't life just pleasant? Sorry to just unload on you guys but I've been REALLY frustrated with all this shit going on. I better shut up before this whole chapter becomes my sap story.** Enjoy!

Chapter 9: Broken Memories

_He closed his eyes and let himself get absorbed into the chatter of all the other guests along with the tapping of heels on the floor. That sound made him have mixed feelings now a days. The last few times he had heard that sound things weren't very pleasant for him. The tapping became louder so he assumed that someone was just walking by him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. He was about to turn to the person and ask them what they wanted when they spoke, making him freeze on the spot._

_"Um...excuse me..." The voice sounded nervous and unsure of itself, but Stephen recognized it immediately._

_Slowly, Stephen turned his head and bit back a half gasp half sob as his intense blue eyes met the softer blue eyes that he loved so much. Even though they were there Stephen didn't see the mask or the suit, he just saw the face of the man he loved so much words couldn't describe it. It was John. Stephen moved so that he was fully facing John, using every fiber of his existence not to throw himself into John's arms and kiss the life out of him. He saw something spark in John's eyes but wasn't able to tell what it was when a second later it was blinked away. It was then that John seemed to realize his lingering touch and slid his hand back down to his side, blushing a little. Stephen had to admit, it was a little weird seeing John dressed so formal. Whenever he had seen John that man was always dressed casually in shorts, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap. It wasn't that Stephen minded seeing John all dressed up, actually he looked pretty sharp and...well...sexy. Stephen stopped himself from his mind going too far into the gutter before he gulped a little and somehow found his voice._

_"Yeah, fella?" He said as normally as possible._

_Again, something seemed to spark in John's eyes, but just as before it was blinked away. "Um...I was just wondering...have we met before?"_

_Stephen, unsure of what to do, just shrugged._

_John 'hmmed' a littler before narrowing his eyes in a curious manor, as if trying to remember something. "I'm John...could you tell me your name?"_

_Stephen was about speak when he realized that Kaitlyn had told him to go by an alias. Shit, he had to think of something quick before John became suspicious. He searched his mind for something before he remembered his grandfather, his father's father who had died before he was born. He had always been curious about him but his parents never really talked about him. So he thought, why the hell not?_

_Flashing a soft smile, Stephen answered. "Sheamus, my name is Sheamus."_

* * *

Part of John couldn't believe his eyes. He had been walking aimlessly through the ballroom, hoping to God that no one would recognize him, when he saw him. The one person that had been probing his thoughts was standing to the side of the room gazing out of the window at the night life. It took him all of his willpower not to run over to them and ask a million questions at once. He knew that this person was the one in his head, he knew that for sure. The reason is because when his eyes passed over them he felt this weird feeling in his chest and a memory he doesn't remember seeing flashed in his mind.

It was of him and that person in a small courtyard that he recognized as the one where those street performers would always sing. The person was knelt down to the ground, gently stroking the petal of a flower that was growing out of one of the cracks in the stone. John was seated one the edge of a dried up fountain, just watching them with again his weird feeling in his chest, admiring this person's child-like curiosity.

_"They say that there are two performers, one from the Spanish lands and the other from the far east. One will play an instrument and the other will sing a song that combines their two languages."_

He had said. The person stood up from his crouching position and looked at John with ice-like blue eyes.

_ "That's a little weird...but interesting. I've heard a few songs in foreign languages, but mostly the one's my mother would sing to me. Her favorite song was called _Alluring Secret White Vow_.__ The song is originally in another language, which one I am unsure, and she would sing it to me in English and the other language. I remember singing it to her before she..."_

They trailed off before finishing the sentence. John nodded, having some sort of understanding that seemed to elude him in the present time.

_"Yeah..."_

John glanced over at something and patted the spot next to him, gesturing for the person to sit. The person looked behind him and saw two teenagers, one with a guitar, and figured that it was those street performers that John had been talking about. The person sat right next to John and watched as the two guys set up. They didn't look very old, in fact they looked to be maybe fifteen or sixteen at the most. Perhaps this was how they made money for their families. The one who looked like he was from the far east sat down and began strumming the guitar beautifully and the tanner one, most likely from the Spanish country, began to sing.

_Hola, Jounetsu wa tomaranain ya de_

_Tougyu, Flamenco, Liga Española, __Está buenísimo_

_Hoppeta ochiru de_

_Sangría, ¡Churros!, Paella_

John got up from his seat on the edge of the fountain and looked down at the person with a smile on his face. The person was about to ask John what he was doing when John reached out a hand to the person, asking him silently if he would grant him a a dance.

_Sagrada Familia mada mada tsukutterun ya de_

The person blushed a light pink and took John's hand almost hesitantly. John pulled him up and drew him into somewhat of an embrace. John still had the person's hand in one of his and the other one placed itself on the person's side. The person then placed his free hand on John's shoulder, again almost unsure of himself which for some reason John found cute. John smiled and leaned forward to the person's ear.

_"Would you like me to lead?"_

The person blushed even more feeling John's breath on his ear and nodded. John smiled even more and they both began swaying to the music, slowly at first.

_Vamos, España,_ _Vamos, España_

_Rojigualda kakagete_

_Olé, Olé! Oyabun yakara na  
_

_Mamottaru de donna mono kara mo  
_

_Genki ga deru omajinai  
_

_Suru? Na, suru?_

_Fusososososo~, fusosososososo~, fusososososo~_

_"Mou shitemota!"_

John became a little bolder and, getting lost in the music, slid his hand down to the person's hip and even gave the person a quick spin, pulling the other man into a brace from behind and wrapped his arms around the person, still swaying to the music. John thought that the blush on the person's face was adorable beyond all reason.

_"Is it bad that I feel that I should think that this weird, but really I don't?"_ The person whispered glancing back at John.

John shook his head. _"No...not at all."_

_Ganbare, ganbare, ganbare, ganbare Oyabun_

_Ganbare, ganbare..._

_Muccha kakkoee toko misetaru de_

_¡Fiesta! Dentou no subarashii sa_

_Hanamatsuri, La Tomatina, Ushioi matsuri_

_Nagai nagai junrei no michi_

_Kokoro ga arawareru waa_

_Taisetsuna shuukan siesta_

_Onegai yakara tsudzuki de_

_Okosantoite naa, Romano_

John spun the person around once more so that they were now facing each other, their faces extremely close together. They watched each other with half-lidded eyes, wondering if some kind of madness had over-taken them.

_Konnani jyoushi ni okorarete mitemo_

_Yappari tebanasenain ya de_

_Gin ya zaisan ni kaerarenai hodo taisetsunan ya de_

_Vamos, España  
_

_Vamos, España  
_

_Rojigualda kakagete_

The music came to a slow stop, but they barely noticed it. They stopped swaying and took a few minutes just to gaze into each other's eyes. John wanted to kiss the person, he wanted to kiss him with all he had. It might have been seen as foolish by others, but at the moment he didn't care. Just as the clock tower began to ring John slowly began to lean in, as if asking the person if this was OK. He heard no protest from the person, so he took that as a yes. He was so close, he could almost feel the heat radiating off of person's face. But when they were literally millimeters apart the last chime of the clock tower sounded and, if only for a moment, panic washed over the person's face. He put his hand on John's shoulder, stopping John.

_"I'm sorry but...I have to go."_

John nodded weakly, the disappointment clearly showing on his face followed by sadness. The person looked as if they felt guilty about something before they leaned in and gave John a quick kiss on his cheek before moving to walk away, his touch on John's arm lingering for a moment before he turned and sprinted away. John could only stand there awe-struck at the realization that he could have just fallen in love.

John bit back a sigh as he finished relaying the new memory in his head. This person, who told him that his name was Sheamus (which, for some odd reason, John doubted the truth of it), seemed unsure as to if they had met before. But John could swear that Sheamus was the same person in his broken memories that he was just now beginning to piece together. So either John was wrong and Sheamus wasn't who John thought he was or Sheamus was hiding something. But John didn't question it as to not possibly scare off Sheamus. If Sheamus was withholding information he might have a damn good reason for it. In the memory he did seem panicked when he heard the chimes of the clock tower. John bit back another sigh, he shouldn't be overworking himself like this! So pushing all that fun stuff to the back of his mind if only temporarily, he smiled at Sheamus and gave him a polite nod.

"Sheamus, huh? You from the Northeast or something?" John asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

Sheamus chuckled a little as if he'd been asked that question many times before. "Actually yeah, I was born there but my parents moved here when I was little."

There was a little truth in that. After Stephen's father died his mother had moved to this kingdom to possibly get a fresh start and a better life. Great choice, eh? But John didn't question it.

"Huh, that's pretty cool. I've grown up here my whole life so going some place new sounds like fun."

Stephen smiled at him, knowing what John was talking about. He knew a lot about John, but couldn't say it at the time because of his predicament. However his smile faltered when he looked over into the crowd and saw two piercing eyes looking right at him. Even though they were wearing a mask Stephen could tell exactly who it was by their cold and soulless gaze, _Paul Heyman. _Stephen did his best to hide his sudden nervous, but despite that John noticed. Slowly, as if not to startle him, John reached out a hand and rested it on Stephen's shoulder who in turn tried not to jump too much.

"Hey...are you alright?" John asked, concern laced in his voice.

Stephen gulped and tried to regain his composure. "Oh...um..I"m fine...I guess...not used to be around so many people is all."

John gave him an 'uh-huh' but Stephen could clearly tell that John had trouble believing him. Stephen had to think of something to distract John, and fast. So, out of no where, he found himself asking the last question he thought his lips would ever utter.

"Uh hey fella, would you like to go and dance...or something?"

Stephen had to stop himself from slapping his hand over his mouth. Did he seriously just ask John to dance? It would distract him but...Stephen didn't really dance in public that much. Sure he's done it before like that time with John but in this crowd Stephen couldn't help but feel subconscious. John tilted his head to side, as if contemplating it for a while before taking Stephen's hand.

"Sure, why not?" John said, flashing a smile at Stephen.

Stephen couldn't help but blush as John pulled him towards the dance floor as a new song was just starting to play. Wait why was he blushing? He was the one who gave the suggestion! Then again...it might just be the atmosphere. They both stopped at the edge of the dance floor.

_You're giving me too many things _

_Lately you're all I need _

_You smiled at me and said,_

John pulled Stephen closer to him and, just like he had done before, placed his hand on Stephen's side as they began (awkwardly) swaying to the music. Stephen almost felt a smile come to him but froze when he felt a piercing gaze on his back. Shit, it was probably still Paul Heyman. He would have to do something in order for Paul to think that he was someone else. Stephen thought of that popular musical he saw when he was a kid and remembered that dance that everyone had been doing for weeks afterwards. So he imitated the first move of the dance, which involved sliding your foot a certain way. Sure that was the girl's step but that was the only one he remembered and he couldn't afford to be picky.

_ Don't get me wrong I love you _

_But does that mean I have to meet your father? _

_When we are older you'll understand _

_What I meant when I said "No, _

_I don't think life is quite that simple"_

John saw that and raised an eyebrow at Stephen. John knew where that was from because when he first saw it as a child he devoted a good few weeks to memorizing both parts of the dance. In fact he still knew every single step.

"Now what was that?" John asked, smirking.

Stephen saw the look in John's eyes and smirked as well, knowing where he was going with this. "The music just speaks to me."

John's smile grew and he made the first step of the male role in the dance. The song that was playing wasn't the song used for the dance, but the beat matched up.

_When you walk away _

_You don't hear me say please _

_Oh baby, don't go _

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight _

_It's hard to let it go_

The dance was fast paced and involved...certain moves on the girl's part that made Stephen grateful that he was flexible. Even though Stephen did his best to block out the rest of the world and focus on where his feet went he began to notice that people had begun to stop and watch them. A nervous feeling rose up him but when he saw John's smiling face (which was currently not to far away from his) he felt himself relax and get lost in the music again.

_The daily things that keep us all busy _

_Are confusing me _

_That's when you came to me and said,_

Stephen wondered why it seemed like none of the other guests found it odd that two men were dancing like this, but they probably thought that they were hired for entertainment. It's been done at these kind of parties before so why wouldn't they assume that?

_Wish I could prove I love you _

_But does that mean I have to walk on water? _

_When we are older you'll understand _

_It's enough when I say so _

_And maybe some things are that simple_

_When you walk away _

_You don't hear me say please _

_Oh baby, don't go _

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight _

_It's hard to let it go_

Stephen no longer felt Paul Heyman's gaze on him so he assumed that Paul had come to the conclusion that he wasn't Stephen and that he was still back at the estate. But by now it seemed like everyone that was at the party was now watching him and John dance. At some points a good amount of the guests would even cheer and clap for them. Stephen's breath was quicker and he already felt the early stages of exhaustion begin to settle in. From what he could see and hear John was feeling the same way too. Both parts of the dance were equal on difficulty level so they would both have to stop pretty soon. Luckily for them the song was almost over.

_Hold me _

_Whatever lies beyond this morning _

_Is a little later on _

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all _

_Nothing's like before_

Stephen couldn't help but smile a little at those particular lyrics. They held some truth in his current situation in a very literal sense. Right now at this very moment what would happen later didn't matter to him. The fact that he was here, now, with John and seemingly off the hook made his worries wash away. And yes, nothing is like it was before in every possible way. Between meeting John and that fact that he was actually _there _was almost like a paradox to him.

_When you walk away _

_You don't hear me say please _

_Oh baby, don't go _

_Simple and clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight _

_It's hard to let it go_

_Hold me _

_Whatever lies beyond this morning _

_Is a little later on _

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all _

_Nothing's like before_

_Hold me _

_ Whatever lies beyond this morning _

_Is a little later on _

_Regardless of warnings the future doesn't scare me at all _

_Nothing's like before_

Literally as the last word rang in the air Stephen and John found themselves pressed against each other, just like they had started out. There was still some music of the song playing but you could barely hear it with the applaud of the crowd. John and Stephen stared into each other's eyes, trying to catch their breath. When the song finally ended they both snapped out of the gaze, making John laugh a little.

"What's so funny?" Stephen asked, smiling.

John flashed Stephen a grin. "Nothing, it's just that I've never met a man who can dance the girl's part."

Stephen blushed and laughed, sliding out of John's grip and crossing his arms over his chest. "Can I take that as a compliment?"

John shrugged, still grinning. "Go ahead, take it anyway you like."

* * *

Booker T glanced over at the red head, who was maybe about ten feet away waiting, before looking back at John with a raised eyebrow.

"Is that the guy you're talkin' about?" Booker T asked, gesturing over to the red-headed man.

John nodded. "Yeah, that's the guy. Now I'm going to have to ask a huge favor but...I need you to run the name _Sheamus_, if you don't find a file from here check the one's for the North-East."

Booker T sighed and rubbed his temple. "I can do that, but are you sure that he's the person?"

John gave him another nod and looked at him seriously. "Yes, I'm positive. I've never been more right in my entire life."

Booker T gave him a look before turning around and making his way out of the ballroom in the direction of the archives. John let out a sigh before making his way back over 'Sheamus', who in turn gave him a questioning look.

"Are you alright fella?" Stephen asked.

John put on a smile before answering. "Yeah I'm fine, I just had to talk with a...friend."

Before Stephen could even begin to doubt him on that john clapped his hands together. "Hey, I'm feeling a little packed in. Would you mind if I showed one of my favorite places outside?"

Stephen took a moment to think before shrugging and giving him a happy nod. "Sure, why not? Some fresh air would be nice."

And with that john began leading them out of the ballroom to one of his favorite places in his home, where they would have enough privacy for...well, a lot of things.

**Sorry if that seems rushed but I really have to use the facilities! As usual I love you guys and keep that wonderful feedback coming!**

**Love and yaoi**

**_~ladyknights104 _**


	10. The clock strikes Midnight

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! HOLY CRAP PROCRASTINATION PLUS TUMBLR ADDICTION ALONG WITH SHERLOCK IS NOT A GOOD MIX! My allergies are being little bitches right now but I figured what better way to distract myself than typing up the next chapter of Shinderella? It's been really warm up here during the day…it's really weird. Oh well, weather is strange. Enjoy!**

Chapter 10: The clock strikes Midnight

Booker T looked over the file again. He had done what John requested him to and ran the name Sheamus through the archives. He hadn't found any Sheamus' from this kingdom, so he tried some from the Northeast. He had found a bunch of names but the only one he found that fit the description of the guy he'd seen...just didn't make any sense. He threw the file down onto the table and leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his face as he relayed what the certificate had said.

_Sheamus Farrelly_

_Age: 96_

_Status: Deceased_

* * *

Stephen couldn't believe his eyes, no wonder this was John's favorite place in the palace. Well...not really _in _the palace. He had been lead to a large beautiful garden with with a beautiful marble fountain. They were surrounded by hedges that had little flowers growing in them and no one else was around, the only sign of other life being the distant sound of music from the ball.

"Nice, isn't it?"

Stephen turned his head towards John, who was standing a small distance behind him.

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah...it's probably one of the most beautiful things I've seen."

John thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I guess...but I've seen better."

Before Stephen could fully understand what his comment meant John made his way over to the fountain and sat on the edge. Floating on the water were dainty pink flowers with fireflies resting in them, like little lanterns. It was almost too perfect.

"You know..." John began. "...I discovered this place when I was about six years old. It was at some party, a lot like this one, and I had sneaked away from my parents because I felt cramped. I walked around the perimeter and suddenly boom, I was here."

There was some truth in that. Basically John's parents had thrown some big party for a deceleration being sighed or whatever and he had left the inside of the palace unsupervised. His parents almost had a heart-attack when they discovered he was missing but when he finally showed up he explained to his parents that he hadn't even left the property and was outside 'sniffing the flowers'. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard 'Sheamus' chuckling. He looked up and saw that he had a smile on his face with an amused twinkle in his eyes.

"You must have been quite a rebel, eh fella?" Stephen said as he walked over and sat down next to John on the edge of the fountain.

John's mind flashed back to that weird memory with him and Sheamus dancing in that courtyard. They had been sitting next to each other before those kids came out and started playing. It had occurred to John that it was possible that this person, who currently in his mind was dubbed Sheamus, had a very special place in his heart. Although...it seemed very unlikely. If Sheamus did hold a special place in his heart, whatever it may be, wouldn't have John remembered him? He did remember a little but...it was just all so confusing. Again he was brought out of his thoughts by Sheamus, only this time the other man nudged him.

"Hey fella...are you alright?" Stephen asked, concerned.

John looked up at him, suddenly feeling an overwhelming feeling at realizing how close he was to Sheamus. "Yeah...I'm fine."

Sheamus nodded, but showed his doubt by frowning. Could it be that he was being too direct? Was he pushing John too fast? He had noticed that throughout the night John would get this distant look in his eyes. He didn't want to hurt John but...he felt almost desperate. The person he loved was _right in front of him_, but he couldn't really do much about it. A familiar tune rang in the air and John perked up, deciding to use this as a subject-changer.

"Oh I know this song! I heard it one time at a concert." John then closed his eyes and smiled, singing the first lyrics.

_Get out your guns, battles begun_

_Are you a saint or a sinner?_

_If love's a fight, then I shall die_

_With my heart on the trigger _

John opened his eyes and suddenly looked a little nervous. Did he seriously just sing in front of Sheamus? Why was he so..._open _with this guys? John cleared his throat and looked at the ground, slightly embarrassed.

"Erm...you get my point."

Stephen stared at John with wide eyes for a few moments before speaking. "I didn't know you could sing."

John looked back to Sheamus with a nervous smile. "Yeah well...I usually rap but I can do the softer stuff too."

Stephen raised an eyebrow on John, now even more surprised. "You can rap?"

John thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "Well if you think about it anyone can rap, but whether or not they can pull it off is the question. I'm not sure how well I can do it because the only people who've heard me are my family members, and they're a little _too _motivational."

Stephen hummed in a response as he heard the song end and people clapping.

"I guess that wouldn't be very..." Stephen trailed off when he heard the next song begin.

It was his mother's favorite song. He froze physically, the memory of the night before she died rushing through his mind.

_"Mama please you have to get better! You promised me you would!" Stephen had said, gripping her almost limp hand in tears. _

_By now almost all color had drained from her. Her once lush hair was now stringy from being too weak to even bathe herself and her eyes had only a sliver of life left in them. She looked up at him from her laying position on her bed and gave him a weak smile._

_"I know Stephen I know..." She had said, her voice terribly weak. "I guess...God wants me to be reunited with papa a little earlier than I had expected."_

_Stephen screwed his eyes shut, a new wave of tears running down his cheeks. "No mama that can't be! Why would God want to leave me alone! Why would papa allow this? He loved you mama why would he want you to die?"_

_His mother laughed lightly, turning into a small cough. "I think...I think papa might have a plan for you. I don't know what but...I have a feeling that it will end with you being special, like we always knew you were."_

_Stephen let that sink in for a little while before shoving it to the back of his mind, not wanting to think about_ _it. All of the sudden tears began to stream down his mother's face. He was about to ask her what was wrong when again she laughed lightly. She turned her gaze up to the ceiling and smiled, letting her eyes droop shut._

_"I can hear him..." She had said._

_Stephen took in a quick breath, a little frightened to what she might be hearing. "What do you hear mama?"_

_Her smile grew and before she fell limp from sleep she said "I can hear your father singing."_

Stephen closed his eyes as the memory ended, trying to stop the tears from flowing. That had been the saddest moment in his life, next to when he thought he had lost John forever. Subconsciously, almost as if by instinct, he began singing the lyrics. Not the English ones, but the original. He was surprised that he still remembered them.

_Kanashi yume o mimashita_

_Daiji na takaramono o_

_Kono te de kowashita koto ni_

_Watashi wa kizuka nai no_

Once he realized what he was doing his eyes snapped open. What the hell? What was happening to him? Sure he had sung in front of John before but...that had been accidental! He nervously looked over to John, who was looking over at him like he just discovered the secrets of life. Stephen smiled at him and sighed.

"Well fella, I hope this makes you feel less ridicul-"

He wasn't even given time to finish his sentence before he was pulled forward and a pair of warm lips were pressed against his. For a moment he was shocked, but quickly responded to John. After all, he had wanted to kiss John all night so he wasn't complaining. He suppressed a moan as he felt a warm muscle push past his lips and press itself against his own. Hungrily he pushed against John's tongue and again suppressed a moan as his own tongue was pulled into John's mouth. He felt John's hand begin to travel down his arm and to his thigh. But suddenly John stopped and pulled back, his face a deep red and a hand over his mouth as if he was shocked by what he had done.

"Oh my god...I-I'm so so-sorry I-I didn't mean to do that!" John said stuttering.

All Stephen could do was sit there and stare at John, wondering how he should play this. He obviously liked it from his response but...he couldn't help but wonder.

"Um...no, it's alright fella, heat of the moment I guess." Stephen said, deciding that it would be the best possible answer.

John looked at him confused, his head slightly tilted to the side. "You...you're not mad?"

Stephen shook his head and and began fiddling with his necklace. "Not really...I'd explain it but you wouldn't really understand in your current state."

John slowly nodded before his attention was redirected to Stephen's necklace. He saw a word, _laoch, _on it and couldn't help but wonder what it meant.

"Hey..." John said, pointing to the very object in question. "What does that mean?"

Stephen looked down and his necklace and chuckled a little, he couldn't help but be amused by John's curiosity. He slowly took off the necklace and handed it to John.

"It means _warrior, _it's in an ancient language that comes from my native country. Of course now we speak English, but I bet even this country didn't start out speaking English. Hell English comes from Latin, another ancient language."

John repeated the word on his lips and nodded, studying the necklace for a little while longer before giving it back to Sheamus, who put it in his pant pocket. Then it hit him, today had taken an interesting turn of events. He almost laughed at the random thought, but stopped himself as not to cause Sheamus to be 'weirded-out' as the kids say now a days. He was about to say something else when he heard a rustle then panting. They both turned their gazes to a servant who looked like he had run here. John gave Stephen an apologetic look before standing up and walking over to the servant.

"What do my parents want now...um...what's your name?" John asked the servant.

The servant stood up straight and Stephen could have sworn he had seen this boy before. He had tan skin and blonde hair that was darker underneath. He also had a soft face, like he was at that age where he was stuck in between the stage of boy and man.

"Um...my name is Kaito, your highness. I was sent to inform you that the Heyman party will be departing soon, master Heyman said that he had business to attend to..."

The servant was cut off when Stephen quickly stood.

"You mean Paul Heyman?" He asked in a distraught voice.

The servant seemed confused for a moment before nodding. "Um...yes, sir. Err...I have to return to my duties so excuse me."

And with that the servant quickly left, disappearing from their sight. John stared at the path he had taken before shaking his head and turning towards Stephen.

"That was strange, I've never seen that guy around here before..." John trailed off when he saw that Sheamus was shaking. He took a small step forwards towards the other man, tentatively reaching out a hand. "Hey...are you alright?"

Stephen jumped a little when he heard John speak, but nodded before quickly walking over to him still distraught.

"I...um...I...I have to...I have to go!" Stephen said quickly before running past John, barely noticing the plinking sound and a sudden empty feeling in his pocket.

John stood there shocked for a moment before attempting to run after him, but stopped when he saw something on the ground. He slowly bent down and picked it up, realizing that it was Sheamus' necklace.

**So yeah instead of a glass slipper it's a necklace. HOLY SHIT DANIEL BRYAN PINNED SETH ROLLINS! Hopefully this will help him get over his 'weak-link' issue. I REALLY want to see Payback this year! I mean I asked my dad if I could go over to a friend's house to watch it but he said he'd think about it. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait and see. Also this Kurtis Axel guy is a load of bullshit. He keeps flipping out happy when he wins by a bloody DQ like he fucking pinned the Undertaker! That and Paul Heyman never freaked out like that when his other clients won by a DQ! Seriously it seems like half of the locker room (ok...like maybe 3) are turning into bitches! Speaking of bitches one of my dreams came true, someone FINALLY told someone else to quit their bitching (John Cena told Ryback that all he does is bitch is complain)! Sure I wish he said to a bunch of other people (Zeb Colter, Dolph Ziggler, Damien Sandow, Paul Heyman, the usual) but I'm happy either way. Well, I better edit this before you all die. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104 **_


	11. The glass slipper

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I figured that I should update Shinderella as much as I can before I go to my mom's house for the summer. Payback last night was AMAZING! I swear these guys never cease to amuse me XD! Well I better get this started quickly before I have to leave for my counseling appointment at 2, but I'll probably have to publish this later tonight. Enjoy! **

Chapter 11: The glass slipper

Stephen quickly ran out of the garden and along the side of the palace. If he didn't hurry back to the estate he would be in deep shit. At first he thought that he could ride Checkmate back to his house but he had no idea where the royal stables were (or even if they were near the palace) so right now he was focusing on keeping his energy up so that he can sprint. He reached the front of the palace and turned the corner to the courtyard in front of it. But before he could run any further someone grabbed him and pulled him back around the corner, one hand covering his mouth. At first he panicked and tried to fight them but then he heard Paul Heyman's voice in the distance.

"...Stephen...better be...luckily he's..." Was all he was able to make out.

He also heard the voice of his step-brothers, which oddly seemed to sound as if they were shocked before he heard a door slam and horses whine. After the trotting of horses was gone he heard his captor sigh in relief before they released him. He quickly turned around, seeing that it was that servant (his name was Kaito right?) from earlier. Stephen stared at him confused as hell for a few moments before speaking.

"Um...what the hell?" Was all he could really think of saying.

That didn't seem to matter to the servant, for he just shook his head. "That's not important right now, are you alright Stephen?"

This shocked Stephen even more. How did he know his real name? Did John send this boy? No, if he did the servant would have addressed him as Sheamus. The servant saw the confusion on Stephen's face and sighed, smacking his palm onto his forehead.

"Of course you wouldn't know! Ugh damn it, I never think of these things!"

Then the servant's form began to slowly change until he took on the form of a woman, but not just any woman. Stephen, once again, stared at her, shocked.

"K...Kaitlyn?"

Kaitlyn smiled and brushed down the uniform she was still wearing. "Yep, in the flesh! Are you surprised to see me? Don't answer that, it doesn't matter right now. What does matter is that we need to get you home before Paul knows that you sneaked out to come here."

She then whistled in the direction behind her and Checkmate appeared from around a corner. He quickly trotted up to Kaitlyn and nudged her, as if telling her something. She nodded and turned back to Stephen.

"You have to leave now if you want to make it back to the estate in time."

Stephen nodded, oddly not surprised by Checkmate's sudden appearance and climbed onto his back. He turned to thank Kaitlyn, but saw that she had disappeared. This only slightly shocked Stephen, but he didn't have time to think about it before Checkmate took off. Except he didn't just run, he literally took_ off._ Somehow, Stephen didn't know how, Checkmate grew two black wings and jumped into the air, flying over the palace and the town. It took all of Stephen's willpower not to scream like a little girl but that didn't stop him from having a mini-heart attack. They were going so fast Stephen could barely process what they were flying over! Before he even knew it they were flying over his house, Checkmate gradually slowing down. Stephen didn't see Paul Heyman's carriage so he assumed that he wasn't back yet, or that he had arrived earlier. He hoped that it was the first option. As soon as Checkmate landed on the front steps Stephen jumped off and began running towards the door. But he paused, skidding to a stop before turning around and hugging Checkmate's neck.

"Thank you Checkmate...thank you so much..." Stephen whispered before letting go of Checkmate's neck.

He slowly backed up, keeping his eyes on Checkmate before turning and running to the front door, opening it and quickly going inside. Stephen ran through the main corridor, not noticing Big-E's unconscious body prepped up against the wall, and ran up to his room. He expected the door to still be broken down on his floor, but oddly enough it was right back on it's hinges slightly open. Not even bothering to question it, Stephen quickly went into his room and slammed the door behind him, panting and trying to calm himself down, fighting the adrenaline that was flowing through his veins. After a few seconds of just standing there he slid down into a sitting position against the door. He now noticed that he was in the clothes that he had on before he left for the ball. For a moment he wondered where his suit and mask went to until he looked over to his bed, smirking a little. On his bed was the suit, folded nicely and neatly with the mask sitting on top. He pushed himself up from the floor and walked over to his bed, looking back down at his suit. He stuck his hands in his pockets, content at first, until he felt that they were empty. He frowned, didn't he put his necklace in his pocket? He patted all of his pockets, empty. He then checked the pockets in his suit, empty.

_Oh god..._

He must have dropped it sometime between when he ran from John and when he arrived here.

_Oh mother of god... _

That means that it could be anywhere! It could still be in the house, or at the palace or..._anywhere in town. _

_Shit! _

If he had dropped it while he was riding Checkmate over the town then he would have a little to no chance of getting it back! If it was in the house then he might be able to find it if Paul or his step-brothers don't find it first. If it was at the palace...well, his chances of finding it there are practically the same as if it fell in the town. Either way, he had to assume the worst. It was gone...and he would probably never get it back. With that realization he sank to his knees and gripped the sheets on his bed. He just sat there for a long while, trying to process it all. Maybe he could call Kaitlyn? No...even if he knew how to call her she said that the magic wore off when he went back into his room. So that probably meant that her job was done and she had to move on to another person. In other words, he was practically fucked. He felt his eyes begin to sting, but he blinked it away. If Paul came in here and saw him all flustered than he might get suspicious, which was the last thing he needed. He figured that he should hide the suit that Kaitlyn gave him. So he carefully took the folded suit with the mask still on top and slid it under his bed, taking a blanket and covering them with it. Perhaps it could be another treasure to remind him of happier days? Also he could use it in case John came looking for him...He shook his head. That was probably a pipe dream at best.

* * *

The party had ended hours ago and John was pacing in his room. He didn't bother to completely change out of his suit, he just took off the mask and coat leaving the shirt untucked. From a distance he might have looked like a madman. There was a knock on his door, but at first he didn't hear it because there were a million things running through his mind. Like why did Sheamus panic when he heard that the Heyman party was leaving? He knew who Heyman was, it wasn't like he was entirely ignorant about the politics of the kingdom (though he did try to avoid it most of the time). Paul Heyman was just some washed up aristocrat that used people to get more money. In basic terms, he's a no good greedy son of a bitch and, just to add on, an ass-kisser. Does Sheamus know Heyman personally? If he did it obviously wasn't on good terms. Did Heyman do something to threaten and/or hurt Sheamus? If so, what had he done to put that kind of fear in a man's eyes? There was another knock, and this time John heard it. He paused in his pacing and looked at his door, debating as to whether or not he should open it.

"Who is it?" He asked, not bothering to move closer to the door.

"It's detective Tittly-winks here about your lost puppy, who the hell do you think it is?"

Oh, it was Booker T. He was probably here to tell him about what he found out. John ran over to the door and opened it, Booker walking right in. John quickly closed the door so that none of the servants would take that as an opportunity to wait on him. Call him paranoid but he didn't want to take the risk, that and it had actually happened before.

"What did you find?" John asked anxiously.

Booker T sighed and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't really sure how to tell John that the guy he was looking for has actually been dead for a good long while. But he figured that it would be best if he just told it to him straight.

"Nice to see you to. Well...I did find out something."

John practically leaned forward in anticipation.

"I really don't know how to say this but...the guy that you had me look up is dead, and has been for a good long time."

John froze in place for a moment before frowning a little, denial obviously running through his head. "What...? No, just...no...that can't be! He was there...I saw him..._you _saw him Booker! How is this..."

John walked over to the edge of his bed and plopped himself down, resting his head in his hands. Booker sighed, feeling bad for the kid before taking a small piece of paper out of his pocket and walking over to John. He gave John a little time to process this information before holding it out in his direction.

"This is a portrait of the guy, and they look an awful lot alike."

John looked back up at Booker and took the paper from him. He was right, it did look a lot like the Sheamus he had met. Except his hair was longer and he looked older, like how everyone in old portraits do. He was just about to put it down when he saw something familiar. He took a closer look at the portrait and saw that this man was wearing the same necklace that his Sheamus had been wearing before he dropped it! Slowly, as if in a trance, John took the necklace that his Sheamus had dropped out of his pocket and held it next to the portrait. It was the same necklace, down to the very last imprint. Booker T had seen the necklace in the portrait earlier, and now gazed upon it shocked.

"John..." Booker began in a low voice. "...where did you get that?"

John looked up from the portrait, a new determination in his eyes that Booker had never seen. "I think I know how to find him now."

**DUN DUN DUN! KINDA SORTA CLIFF HANGER! Don't worry, I'll try and get the next chapter up as soon as possible. I'm officially going to my mom's house for the summer this Friday so if I don't update by then well...I hope you can hold out for a month. I do occasionally go to my grandparents house and back to my dad's house during the summer so I'll try and work on my stories then. So just bear with me on this, ok? Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104** _


	12. Finding you Again

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Wow...I'm actually here, typing 2 chapters in the same day. _Wow_, I must _really _love you guys. Although I might not be able to get it up today, perhaps tomorrow. We'll see, now won't we? I just got done baking brownies and ate the batter so I'm pretty content right now. I also have music blaring in my ears so hopefully I won't get any pesky distractions from my family (we're like...really dysfunctional). OK the main reason I'm here right now is 'cause I wanna make SheaShea and John make out but I can't do that until I get to a certain part. I really only have the beginning of this chapter figured out but I guess I'll just go wherever the wind takes me. **

Chapter 12: Finding you Again

"John come on try to be reasonable!" Booker T said quietly as he possibly could as to not disturb those who were sleeping.

After Booker T had shown John the portrait of Sheamus Farrelly the prince had stayed locked in his room all day, not coming out once. This wasn't entirely odd but due to the circumstances Booker had a feeling that John was up to something. Was he right? Oh hell yeah. He had caught John sneaking out of his room just as the moon began to rise and he looked like he was going to be gone for a while. John was dressed for a hiking trip and he had a shoulder bag filled with who knows what. He also had a single silver dagger hanging from his belt, along with the necklace that guy Sheamus had dropped close by it. Booker wasn't quite sure what John was up to, but it couldn't be anything good.

"I am being reasonable!" John said, his voice stiff.

They were both standing in one of the hallways of the palace, a good 5 maybe 10 feet away from each other, a large window to their right letting in the moonlight. John was facing away from Booker, looking as if he was ready to run at any moment. John took in a shaky breath, still facing away from Booker T.

"Do you know how I spent the day Booker? _Trying to figure what the fuck this all is out. _I started thinking hard, _really _hard about Sheamus and what this all meant. And you know what? I remembered something." Slowly, John turned around and faced Booker. His face was determined but also angry. "I remembered how I got on the side of that road. But I know that no one will believe me so...I'm getting him out of there."

Booker narrowed his eyes at John, taking a hesitant step forward towards John. "Get who out of where?"

John's hand went to his dagger and the necklace at his side, gripping them like they were the only thing anchoring him to this world. "_Him, _Booker, get _him _out of that hell hole he has to call a home!"

John wasn't really sure why he referred to it like that, hell he didn't even know _why _it was a hell hole! He just had this...feeling deep inside his gut. He didn't know exactly _how _he got on the side of that road, but he knew that it had something to do with Paul Heyman and Sheamus. John took in another shaky breath and let go of the dagger and necklace.

"I just...I can't explain it. But even you have to admit that if I think something bad is happening to my people, even if he isn't originally from here, hell if something bad is happening to anyone who doesn't deserve it, I have to do something about it. Please tell me you understand!" John said, looking at Booker T with pleading eyes.

Booker had to admit, the kid got him there. It seemed like John took on more of a sense of responsibility about the well-fare of the people than his own father did, who just happened to be the _king. _Besides, even if Booker tried he knew that he wouldn't be able to stop John from his carrying out his decision, no one could. The kid was set in his mind and he couldn't change it. So Booker sighed and turned around.

"I didn't see shit." Booker said before walking away and disappearing down the hallway.

John smirked and turned back away, beginning to make his way for a side door in the palace. "Sure thing Booker."

* * *

Stephen almost dreaded the morning sun, but alas it always came. A part of him couldn't believe that it had been almost two days since he saw John at the ball. He wanted to see the prince again but...a part of him said that may have been his last chance. So he just fell back into his regular routine. He had already made breakfast, beat the rugs, and cleaned the windows. So now he was outside in the flower garden towards the side of the house. He didn't really have to weed today, he just wanted to be alone for a little while. He just sat there in the middle of the garden holding a flower, staring at it and occasionally plucking off one of the petals. It was a pink camellia, which he found ironic. In the language of flowers a camellia a gift to a man and associated with admiration and perfection. The pink part of it meant that the giver had a longing for someone. Well, he longed for his prince John, that was for sure. Though he felt that the perfection part was way off. There was nothing perfect about his and John's love because it seemed that no matter what they did it always ended with one of them getting hurt. Well, they've only tested that theory twice but Stephen was pretty sure that it would always be like that. He always assumed the worst so that in the end when everything went to hell he wouldn't be hurt as much. He sighed when he felt the heat of the sun on him and looked up to the sky. By the looks of the angle of the sun it was probably around noon.

"Well...guess I better wash up and make everyone lunch." Stephen said quietly to no one in particular.

He placed the flower back on the dirt covered ground in between the rows of plants. He slowly stood up and brushed the dirt off of his jeans and stretched before hearing the distant whine of a horse. That was weird, Paul wasn't supposed to be having any guests. Curious, Stephen quickly walked towards the front of the house but kept towards the wall in case it was an intruder. Once he made it to the front he pressed himself against the wall and peaked around the corner. What he saw made his head shoot back and press himself against the wall even more. Standing in front of his house next to a beautiful black stallion was none other than prince John Cena. But not just any prince, _his _prince. Stephen felt his heart pound in his chest as he peeked back around the corner. He wanted to run at John and hug him, kiss him, tell him how much he missed him but for some reason his feet were frozen in place. John looked over the front of the house for a few minutes before patting Checkmate's neck and walking up the steps, knocking on the door. Someone, Stephen didn't know who, opened the door and let him in. It wasn't until Stephen heard the slam of the door did he move, and fast. He tore himself from his place and began sprinting for the backdoor, which lead to the laundry room.

* * *

John looked around the main corridor of the house, impressed by the architecture but not by the owner. Paul Heyman, said owner of the house, was currently over joyed that the prince had spared him a visit.

"I am just so _honored _that you have graced us with your presence your highness!" Heyman said, being a kissass.

"Hm? Oh yeah, no problem."

To be honest John wasn't really listening to him, he was looking for a certain red-head that had all but captured his heart. Heyman hadn't always lived here, John knew that. Actually Heyman used to live out in the middle of no where before he married a rich widow.

"Actually Mr. Heyman I didn't come here for you..." John said, trying to think of something quickly.

For a moment Paul's happy looked went away but then he just kept on smiling. "Well then, did you come here to see my sons?"

"Um...I came here because..." A light bulb went off in John's head at that moment. "I'm here because I'll be designing a personal summer house for me and my family and I heard that your house is one of the most well built in the kingdom. So would you mind if I looked around a bit, by myself?"

Despite his suspicion, Paul just kept smiling and nodded. "Oh of course, look around all you want! Although I must warn you to avoid the attic, it hasn't been cleaned in a while."

John raised an eyebrow at that, but let it slide. "Alright, I appreciate it."

Before Paul could say anything John walked away, heading up the stairs towards the 2nd floor. As he did he could have sworn he saw someone turn a corner, but figured that it might be one of Paul's sons. He quickly looked for another staircase to find the attic and after a few minutes of searching he did. He quickly looked over his shoulder to make sure that no one was following him before heading up the stairs. The staircase was rather narrow and dusty, which he expected. What he didn't expect was there to be a hallway with a door. It was a regular wooden door, nothing special. But it looked like it was often used. He gulped, walking over to the door and slowly opening it. Inside was what looked like someone's bedroom, maybe a guest room? No, guest rooms would be much nicer. He looked around it before something caught his eye. Under the bed, half covered by a blanket, something was sparkling. John looked over his shoulder again before walking and knelling down, reach under the bed and grabbing the object. When he brought it into full view he mentally gasped. This was the same mask that Sheamus had worn when they...they...

"John?"

John quickly stood up and spun around, only to be shocked. Standing in the doorway was Sheamus, stiff and unsure if what he was seeing was real. John gulped again, trying to keep it together, and walked over until he was about a foot in front of the other man. They just stared at each other before John made the first move, putting the mask down and reaching for the necklace on his belt. He gazed at it in his hand for a moment before looking back up to Sheamus, holding the necklace out to him.

"I believe this belongs to you." John said quietly.

Stephen nodded, taking the necklace and staring at it in his hands before looking back up at John. He then threw his arms around John, burying his face until his shoulder. John quickly wrapped his arms around Stephen and held him close, not noticing the angry form of Paul Heyman.

**Yep, another cliffy. I'll probably type up the next chapter tomorrow though, so yeah. HOLY SHIT TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! I'm like...freaking out here...Well it's getting late so I better edit this and publish it. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

**_~ladyknights104_**


	13. AJ in Blood

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I'm going to my boyfriend's house at around 4 so I'm unsure as to when I'll be able to publish this chapter. I still can't believe that I got 2 chapters in one day up! The only reason I didn't start working on this chapter right after was because it was late and I forced myself to go to bed (didn't wake up until noon). I was pretty restless yesterday, I'm not sure why though. Well I've barely been up for an hour so I'll try to make this as intense as possible. Enjoy!**

Chapter 13: AJ in Blood

"John?"

John quickly stood up and spun around, only to be shocked. Standing in the doorway was Sheamus, stiff and unsure if what he was seeing was real. John gulped again, trying to keep it together, and walked over until he was about a foot in front of the other man. They just stared at each other before John made the first move, putting the mask down and reaching for the necklace on his belt. He gazed at it in his hand for a moment before looking back up to Sheamus, holding the necklace out to him.

"I believe this belongs to you." John said quietly.

Stephen nodded, taking the necklace and staring at it in his hands before looking back up at John. He then threw his arms around John, burying his face until his shoulder. John quickly wrapped his arms around Stephen and held him close, not noticing the angry form of Paul Heyman.

Paul Heyman just stood there for a few moments, shaking from anger and...fear? Why should he be afraid? If those witches were as reliable as they said they were the prince shouldn't remember anything! He paid them a hefty price to erase the prince's memory! He even hired a bounty hunter to capture the prince! But if they were wrong then...he had been cheated! Paul Heyman was about to scream and jump at Stephen, not caring about anything but something hit him hard on the back of the head, knocking him out cold. When his body hit the ground it made a rather loud thud, making John and Stephen jump right out of their skin and back in it. They separated from each other and looked over to the door, stifling a gasp. Standing behind Paul's unconscious body was the trembling form of AJ holding a baseball bat. There was blood on her cloths and on the bat, making Stephen wonder what the hell she had done. He looked down to Heyman's body, but there was no blood visible on him. Stephen looked back at AJ shocked, realizing that she was also looking at him. Cautiously, he took a step forward and reached a hand out to her, like silently telling her that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"AJ...what did you...?" He wasn't given a chance to finish his question when he saw Dolph and Punk run up behind her.

They didn't attack her so he assumed that they were on her side. Dolph grabbed AJ's arm and tried to pull her back, but not in a harmful way.

"Come on AJ we have to get out of here the police will be here any moment!" Dolph said in a panicked tone.

But AJ shook his arm off. "Stephen are you alright? Please tell me this..._bastard _didn't hurt you!"

Now Stephen was even more shocked. He assumed that she was talking about Paul Heyman, and not John. Well, he _hoped _that she was talking about Paul Heyman. Was she here to rescue him? No, if she was then Dolph and Punk wouldn't be with her. She must have been originally been here for Dolph but decided to break them all out from Heyman's grip. But then where was the blood from?"

"AJ..." Stephen began as calmly as he could as to not threaten AJ. "...I'm not going to hurt you but you need to tell me...whose blood is that?"

AJ paused for a moment, as if thinking about it, before she began laughing. "I told him if he didn't follow my orders he would pay...and then I found out about you and the...I just couldn't risk him betraying me!"

Her laughter soon turned into sobs, which is when Dolph quickly took her in his arms and explained. AJ had hired Big-E to 'escort' Dolph away from Paul Heyman and back to her so that they could run away together. Big-E was supposed to meet her yesterday but when he didn't show up she got worried. She figured that Heyman finally went insane and was holding them all captive, which is why she brought the bat. But as it turns out Big-E was answering to a new boss and he said that she would never see Dolph again. So she snapped and beat him to death with the baseball bat. Dolph and Punk had walked in a little too late, because he was already dead. As soon as he was done explaining they all looked to John. They knew that he was a noble man and that he would probably turn AJ in, but he waved his hand as if pushing it aside.

"Look I know what you're all thinking but that's not important. What's important is that we all need to get the hell out of here." He turned to AJ. "I know you and I haven't been on good terms lately but can you put that aside for now so we can save all of our asses?"

AJ nodded immediately. "No problem, I brought two horses with me so Punk can use that one so he can meet that guy he was talking about."

Stephen turned to Punk with a raised eyebrow, curious as to just what AJ was talking about. Punk sighed, knowing what he was thinking. "While Dolph and I were in town I met this street performer, Chris Jericho, who was part of some band. He offered me a place in the band and, believe it or not, I said yes. He told me to meet him in a certain part of town within the month so yeah I'm running away too."

Stephen nodded slowly, as if he was skeptical about whether or not Punk was telling him the truth. But that didn't matter right now as they quickly ran out of the house, avoiding the main road as to not catch the attention of the police.

* * *

As Punk had said, he went ahead to town to meet that guy Chris Jericho and his band. Ironically enough AJ, Dolph, John, and Stephen all stopped at the grassy hill where John and Stephen would meet secretly before all of _this _had happened. Checkmate and AJ's horse, Gardenia, were grazing near by under a tree. The reason they stopped is because AJ wanted to have a word with Stephen, privately. So they were standing a good distance away from John and Dolph.

"Stephen...you and I both know that he won't give up that easily." AJ said, not needing to say the name of who she was talking about.

Stephen sighed and ran a hand through his hair, already feeling exhausted. "I know that, but what about you and Dolph? You know how crazy he is about revenge and even though you're higher up than he is you're not royalty."

AJ scoffed at him. "That's what I'm trying to tell you Stephen! It won't matter that you're the prince's boyfriend to him anymore! You'll be the closest one distance-wise, so he'll go after you first!"

"Well how do you know he won't go after you or Punk first?" Stephen asked.

AJ sighed, slightly annoyed but tried not to show it. "_Because _he knows where you are! Punk is going off with street performers who are practically impossible to track and Dolph and I will keep moving around!" She suddenly got this pained look on her face and took one of his hands in her's. "Just...promise me that you'll be careful, for both of you, OK?"

Stephen narrowed his eyes at AJ, knowing that she was hiding something from him. It was something big but for some reason she couldn't tell him directly. So Stephen sighed and nodded, silently promising her that he would try his best. She then nodded at her and stood on her tip-toes, whispering something into his ear. Stephen knew what it was but didn't know why it was relevant until he remembered something. He looked at her, an eyebrow raised, silently asking. She nodded and let go of his hand, giving him a quick hug before walking away towards her horse. Stephen saw Dolph nod at John and he walked over to AJ. They both mounted themselves, AJ at the reigns, as John walked back over to Stephen's side, watching them. AJ gave Stephen one last nod before riding off, disappearing over the hills. John noticed the look Stephen had as he watched her go. He seemed confused, but at the same time content. Also a little sad. It made John wonder what AJ had talked to him about, but didn't prod at it seeing how it was probably private.

"So...what now?" Stephen asked, turning his head to John.

John looked at Stephen, studying his face for a little while before sighing. "Do you think you could fill me in on all of this?"

Stephen looked at him confused and turned to fully face him. "What do you mean?"

John gave him a sad smile. "Well, I learned that your name is actually Stephen, and not Sheamus. Stephen Farrelly, right?"

Stephen nodded, but then was confused again. "You...you don't remember?"

John shook his head, now as confused as Stephen. "Remember what?"

Stephen mentally gasped and put a hand over his mouth to prevent a sob. John still didn't remember everything...he didn't remember when they first met, when he promised that he would see him again, when they made love...he didn't remember when they were separated. But he had to remember _something! _If he didn't remember something he wouldn't be here! Stephen carefully took John's face in his hands and made it so that they were looking right at each other and nothing else.

"John..." Stephen began, shakily. "...I want you to think _really _hard, before the ball and before the last memory you had of me."

At first John was confused, but focused on Stephen's eyes. He then felt something poke at his mind, like a little voice screaming from the depths of confinement. He fought to let it out, another headache coming on. But he ignored the pain even though it was evident on his face. Stephen noticed this and became concerned, but he knew it was necessary no matter how much he hated to see John feel this way. The pain got worse, causing John to collapse to his knees. Stephen quickly knelled down next to John, holding his shoulders so that he wouldn't completely collapse. Images and words were rushing through John's mind, making him shake a little. But they all had to do with Stephen. They were things like a crowded bar, a grassy field, confessions of love, and...It was then that it all hit John like a ton of bricks. He looked up at Stephen, now knowing the pain he went through, the pain they went through, every single moment that would all lead to this. A single tear made it's way down John's face as he held Stephen close, muttering apologies to him. Stephen held him also, telling him that there was no need to apologize. It was then that John kissed him, as in_ really _kissed him, and made another promise. He promised to never let him go, but in a good way.

**THAT'S NOT THE END I PROMISE! But a good place to leave off, correct? Now just a heads up the next chapter will take place a little over a month later, and the next parts will probably make your jaw drop. At least I hope so. Now the title of this chapter came from a line in _Macbeth _that I thought was cool so I decided to modify it to fit the story. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104 **_


	14. A month later

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I just saw the new Superman movie and IT SUCKED! Piece of advice, don't waste your money on it. I actually have half a mind to re-write the entire movie and make it better. You can probably guess the first change I would make ;). But, of course, I have to work on this first. Now it's almost midnight so I probably won't be able to publish this until tomorrow. But I'll make my best effort. Now this episode will probably seem a little slow until later on but I just want you all to get caught up with what's been going on. Enjoy! **

Chapter 14: A month later

Stephen gripped at the bed sheets, sweating and panting at the dream he was having. Well, you couldn't really call it a dream, it was more like a nightmare. It was the same dream he had about a month ago, with the house in the woods and that strange woman only gradually getting worse. And then the pain hit him, but this time he really felt it in his body. He grunted and moaned from the pain in his sleep, his hand going down to his stomach and gripping at the cloth of his shirt. His hand hit John's arm when he reached for his stomach, causing the other man to wake up. John had already introduced Stephen to his parents and now he and Stephen were sharing his room. But of course John wouldn't have it any other way. John rolled over so that he was facing Stephen, making an effort to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"Steph what's wrong..." It was then that he saw the pained look on Stephen's face.

It's not like this was anything new to him, it seemed like almost every night (except when they made love) Stephen had some sort of nightmare. John didn't know what it was about though because Stephen never wanted to talk about it, but he could guess that it had something to do with Paul Heyman. John quickly put his hand on Stephen's shoulder and gently shook him, trying to wake him up.

"Stephen wake up, can you hear me? Wake up!" John whispered to Stephen, but that didn't seem to work.

So John shook Stephen a little harder, saying his name a little louder. It was then that Stephen's eyes shot open and he quickly sat up in the bed, sweat trickling down the side of his face as he still gripped at the fabric on his stomach. He sat there panting for a little while as if processing where he was before looking at John and sighing.

"Damn...it was that stupid nightmare again." Stephen whispered to no one in particular.

John pursed his lips and kept his eyes on Stephen. He wanted to help Stephen, he really did. But he felt powerless to do anything because it wasn't like he could stop Stephen from having nightmares. All he could do was hold the man and tell him that everything would be alright. So, just like every other night, John reached out and put a comforting hand on Stephen's shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" John asked, like he usually did.

However, like always, Stephen shook his head. "No...I'll be fine. It's just a bad dream, right?"

John honestly didn't know what to say. If this only happened once then yeah, he would agree. But seeing how this happened several times before he couldn't help but feel that maybe it was like a foreboding, but he couldn't explain. He didn't pry though, if Stephen wanted him to know he would tell him when he was ready. John pulled Stephen close to him and laid them both back down on the bed. He held Stephen close to him, silently telling him that everything would be alright and kissed his forehead.

"Yeah, sure...just a bad dream." He said, trying to go along with Stephen's theory.

He heard Stephen sigh as he tucked his head under John's chin. "Why do I have the feeling that you doubt it?"

John thought for a moment before shrugging to the best of his ability. "I guess it's because I do doubt it. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? I mean...maybe it will go away if you talk about and we can possibly figure out what it means?"

He heard another sigh. "Yes John, I'm sure I don't want to talk about it. When the day comes that I want to talk about it I will, OK?"

This time John sighed, but he nodded. "Alright, but just think about it, please?"

Stephen nodded. "I will John, I will."

For the rest of the night John held on to Stephen, not wanting to fall asleep until the other man did first. He always waited until Stephen fell asleep because he knew that before he came here Stephen really didn't have anyone to talk to or to make him feel safe while he was asleep. So every night John gave him that courtesy. It didn't really do much to affect John because no one bothered him in the morning anymore. The servants were still trying to get used to the fact that John was actually in a relationship. But John had to admit sometimes it was funny to watch the servants and Stephen interact with each other. Whenever they tried to serve something to Stephen he would always get this weirded out look on his face and ask them why they were doing it. It would always embarrass the servants and leave John laughing. Of course Stephen would give him one of those WTF looks which only made John laugh harder. But still, either way life seemed to be a hell of a lot better for Stephen than it was before. But that still didn't stop him from worrying. Did John blame him? No, not at all. The poor guy was so used to being controlled by Paul Heyman that this new lifestyle was strange to him, but that didn't stop him from accepting it. John felt Stephen's breathing slow and he assumed that the other man had fallen asleep. So he closed his eyes, doing his best to push all worry to the back of his mind.

* * *

John was awoken by the sound of someone knocking on his door. He groaned and sat up, maneuvering his arms out of his grasp on Stephen and rubbing his eyes. What time was it? The sun was up so it had to be at least after six. There was another knock on his door, making him drag himself out of bed. He put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt before walking over to his door. No one bothered him in the morning so whatever was going on he figured that it must be urgent. He opened the door and was greeted with a servant looking like he had just run a marathon.

"What's wrong?" John asked, getting straight to the point.

The servant took in a few more breaths of air before answering. "Your highness...you need to come quickly! Paul Heyman is in the main corridor demanding that you hand over master Farrelly to him!"

John's heart dropped into his stomach and all color drained from his face. He looked back over at Stephen who was still sleeping (surprisingly) peacefully before stepping out of his room and closing the door.

"Make sure no one comes near this room, understand?" He told the servant.

The servant nodded quickly before John began sprinting down the hall towards the main corridor. He ran into several other people along the way but ignored them in favor of his task. What the hell was Paul Heyman doing here? Didn't he know that it was practically suicide to take on the royal family like this? Maybe he really is insane...

John turned the corner to the corridor and skidded to a stop when he saw Paul Heyman. Paul was being accompanied by some strange woman with tan skin and wavy brown hair. Only when John got a better look at her he realized that she was a famous witch named Eve. What would Paul Heyman being doing with a witch? Nothing good, that's for sure. There were also several guards surrounding Paul Heyman and Eve, their weapons raised and ready for an attack. When Paul Heyman saw John he smiled an evil smile that made John want to punch him in the face. He knew what Heyman wanted and there was no way in hell that he would get him.

"I WANT EVERYONE OUT!" John yelled at the guards. The guards looked at each other confused until John yelled again, which is when they all hurried out of the room.

John knew that they wouldn't go far, but as long as he was alone with Heyman in some kind of way he would be slightly pleased. Paul Heyman began clapping his hands, as if applauding John.

"Well, well your highness." Paul said with all the smugness in the world. "What a performance there. But unfortunately you'll just have to put your swords down and return my property back to me now."

John gritted his teeth, using every fiber of his existence to not punch Paul Heyman in the face. He knew that if he did the witch Eve would probably do something. What she would do he didn't know but he wasn't going to willingly take the risk. If he did, well...she might do something to hurt Stephen which is the last thing he wanted.

"Stephen is not _property _and he certainly doesn't belong to you!" John yelled across the room to Heyman, who just seemed to become even more amused by his outburst.

"Think what you want my prince, but what I say is the reality of our little _situation_. If you don't hand him back over to me willingly, then I'll just have to take him by force. Now you don't want that for your precious little Stephen, now do you John?"

John scoffed at Heyman, trying desperately to keep his anger from making him do something rash. "Oh really now? How the _hell _do you think you're going to do that? Need I remind what kind of connections my family has? I could have had you _killed _any time I wanted in the past month! But you're lucky that I still have a sliver of humanity left for you and that I'm more forgiving than my own father!"

Paul Heyman was about to say something when his eyes focused on something behind John. He then quickly focused back on John and changed his expression to a look of insanity.

"JUST YOU WAIT! I'LL GET REVENGE ON YOU BOTH BY KILLING YOU AND RETURNING THAT BITCH TO HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN THIS WORLD!"

Then Heyman snapped his fingers and Eve waved her hand, both of them disappearing in smoke and fire. At first he was confused by Paul Heyman's sudden action until he heard a whimper behind him. John quickly turned around and saw Stephen standing near the far corner of the corridor, eyes wide and his body trembling. John tried to say something to possibly assure him that they would be safe, but he wasn't given time before Stephen raised a hand to cover his mouth, doubling over and vomiting.

**Aww poor SheaShea! Why do I always have to be so mean to my characters? Well...it's like, past midnight so I better edit this and go to bed. I probably won't be up until past noon tomorrow so...don't expect anything until late. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi **

_**~ladyknights104 **_


	15. Bodily Changes

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! I can't help but feel that I've been rushing the last few chapters, like I don't take enough time to savor it. What do you think? I'll try my best at this chapter but I'm unsure as to how I would end this chapter and my set plan of events. I guess I'll just wait and see where this takes me. Enjoy!**

Chapter 15: Bodily Changes

"John I swear I'm fine! It was just...nervousness alright?" Stephen said from his place on their bed.

John sighed and pushed himself off of the wall that he had been leaning on in their room. "You threw up in the middle of the main corridor and you were shaking! I highly doubt that you're just 'fine'."

After the little bout with Paul Heyman breaking into the palace and swearing revenge against them John had brought a still trembling and shocked Stephen back to their room and had a servant go and call for a doctor. Their doctor, a woman in her late thirties with short redish-blonde hair by the name of Dr. Volk, was currently taking some notes on her clipboard. She had already checked Stephen's temperature and the other basic procedures so now all John could was wait to see what her diagnoses was. Stephen had kept on saying that he was fine but John didn't want to take any chances, especially with the threat of Paul Heyman in the air.

"Good news..." The doctor began, putting her clipboard down. "...despite what you may have thought, your highness, he doesn't seem to have the flu or any other disease. The vomiting was most likely due to anxiety which I see a lot with my patients that have experienced a lot of physical and emotional trauma."

Stephen looked at John with a look that said 'I told you so', making John roll his eyes at the other man. Despite that, Stephen still had trouble hiding a proud smile. The doctor picked up her clipboard and jotted down one more thing before ripping off the piece of paper and handing it to John.

"It's not life-threatening but I would highly suggest that master Farrelly avoids any stressful situations, which _does _mean you'll have to put a pause on your guys' sex life." She said with a completely straight face.

John and Stephen both blushed a deep red as John quickly took the paper, his grip on it making it crumple a little. "Um...yes, doctor, erm...thank you for your services."

The doctor flashed him a smile. "No problem, but do call me if his condition gets worse."

And with that she packed up her things and left, claiming that she had to attend to another patient across town. John sighed when she finally left and sat down next to Stephen on the bed. They sat there in silence for a little before John spoke up.

"Did she seriously comment on our sex life?" John asked, studying the wall like it would have his answer.

Stephen sighed and shrugged, shaking his head. "Where do you find doctors like her?"

John thought about that for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know, it's not my job."

* * *

Stephen was sitting on a stone bench outside in the palace garden, watching the sun disappear behind the hills. Lately he had been thinking a lot. About what? Well...a lot of things. Sometimes he wondered where AJ and Dolph and Punk were now. John hadn't mentioned anything about AJ beating Big-E to death with a baseball bat so the police assumed that Paul Heyman did that and labeled AJ as a runaway. Her parents were a little less than happy about it but Stephen knew that it was what AJ had wanted. He could sympathize with her a little, after all he knew how it felt to be practically held hostage by someone who doesn't seem to care about your own wants and needs. He also couldn't help but wonder if this was all just some crazy dream and he would eventually wake up and be back in the attic of his old house. The thought of that happening actually terrified him! He would also wonder what life would be like for him now seeing how he was with John. The thought of them getting married always made him blush, but oddly he couldn't see a future without John. Speaking of the prince he felt two strong arms wrap around his midsection and hold him close. John tenderly kissed the side of Stephen's neck, making the other man hum in approval.

"What are you thinking about?" John asked quietly, almost as if they were the only people in the world.

Stephen shrugged. "Stuff, I guess, like everything that's happened so far."

Stephen felt John's hold tighten on him, making him sigh and gently pat one of the strong tan arms. "Hey...I told you I'm fine! Even the doctor said that I would be alright if I didn't experience any major stress."

John sighed and rested his chin against Stephen's shoulder. "I know and I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about what Paul Heyman said."

At the mention of Paul Heyman Stephen's heart dropped into his stomach and he frowned. "He said that he wants to kill you."

Stephen heard John chuckle bitterly before sitting closely next to Stephen on the bench, not taking his eyes off of Stephen. "Do you honestly think I'm worried about that? I'm more worried about what he said about you."

Stephen turned to John, taking the other man's hand in his. "And that's what _I'm _worried about John. If you died how do you I would feel? I mean I know you would be crushed if something happened to me but...he didn't say that he was going to _kill _me and I'm used to his bullshit. Besides I have something that he wants, my family's money. If I die than he can't get his hands on it. So just...promise me that'll you'll be careful, alright?"

John pursed his lips for a moment before nodding and giving Stephen's hand a quick squeeze. "Alright, I'll try and look out for the both of us."

Stephen smiled and gave John a quick kiss. "Good, now let's go eat something I'm starving. I feel like ice cream and potatoes."

* * *

John was awoken by the sound of Stephen throwing up his dinner in a bucket next to their bed, which wasn't the most pleasant of sounds. He groaned and sat up, reaching over and gently rubbing Stephen's back in an effort to ease the pain. Stephen let out one last cough before he stopped, but only for a moment.

"Maybe I shouldn't have eaten so much..." Stephen said before throwing up again.

John sighed and looked outside. By the looks of the place of the moon in the sky it was early morning. Once he heard Stephen's sounds of vomiting subside he got up out of bed, trying not to cringe as he moved the bucket full of vomit near the door. Stephen had laid back down, but he was looking absolutely miserable. John sat down on the bed next to him, patting his back and letting him know that he was there.

"How you feeling bud?" John asked, reaching over and brushing away a stray hair from Stephen's face.

Stephen groaned a little before answering. "I just puked my guts up into a bucket, how do you think I feel fella?"

John nodded, silently understanding what he meant by that. John pulled the sheets up to cover Stephen in case he was cold. "I'll call the doctor in the morning, OK?"

Stephen opened his mouth as if to protest, but gave up with a sigh and nodded. He just _really_ didn't feel like doing this right now.

"Can I get you anything?" John asked, concern lacing his voice.

Stephen nodded weakly. "Yeah...some food and water would be nice."

John nodded and quickly kissed Stephen's forehead before leaving the room. It was still dark out so it seemed like John was the only one wandering around the palace hallways. For a moment he paused by one of the large windows, like the one he had talked to Booker T next to before he went looking for Stephen, looking outside quickly and thinking. It was obvious now that Stephen's condition wasn't brought on by stress. Stephen may claim that it was just because he ate too much but lately he had been eating twice his fill. John didn't question him about it before but now he couldn't help but be a little suspicious. He shook his head, his tired mind trying to focus on the task at hand. He dragged himself away from the window and began walking down the hall. He turned a corner but collided with something. He stumbled a little and looked up to possibly see what he had bumped in to but instead he was met with a fist to his face, knocking him down to the floor. When his vision cleared he saw a pair of black military-issue boots walking down the hallway towards his and Stephen's room. He tried to pick himself up off of the floor but a sharp pain went through his back making him collapse again. He tried to push himself up again, this time succeeding but barely. When he stood up fully he felt himself beginning to fall again and quickly began supporting himself on the wall. He looked back down the hallway, his vision still a little blurry. Whoever had attacked him was gone from his vision, but that didn't mean that they weren't still in the palace. If you hadn't lived in the palace for a while you would have a hard time finding your way out. So he trudged down the hall to the best of his ability, limping and trying his best not to cry out in pain in case his assailant was nearby. He made it halfway down the hall before he heard a loud noise come from the direction of his and Stephen's room. Then he remembered about what Paul Heyman had said...about taking Stephen back by force if they didn't do it willingly. With that realization he broke into an all out sprint, ignoring the pain and dizziness beginning to probe his mind. By the time he made it to their room black spots had begun to form in his vision, but he was still able to see that their door was open. Before he passed out he saw that their window was broken and Stephen was no where to be seen.

**Yep, another cliffy. I'm so mean! ;) But this is just one of those things were you _have _to leave it on a cliffhanger. I might work on the next chapter tonight but I don't know. I want to take a tiny break but for some reason I always find myself typing. Not that it's a bad thing but I don't want to over work myself. I mean I stayed up until past midnight typing! I think I might have a small problem...Oh well, it's not hurting anyone so I guess it's OK. Guess I just don't have a lot to do now a days with school out. I'm also in the process of becoming nocturnal so this might actually be helping me out. I swear it's so much more fun at night! There isn't a lot of annoying normal people and that's when all the fun people come out! I'm just kidding I don't go outside. Well...not willingly. Reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104 **_


	16. Stephen's Keeper

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! My mind is like...really jumbled right now so...yeah. Like I said yesterday I'll be going over to a friends house at 4 so I'm unsure as to when I'd be able to publish this chapter. It might be tonight, maybe tomorrow. If not those times then I don't know. I'm also slightly pissed because my dad and sister keep bitching at me when I've barely been up for an hour (I woke up at around 12:30 today) so yeah. I didn't really have a lot of time to think about this chapter but whenever I do think of it I think if that scene from FMA when Edward is being held captive by this crazy priest and he's chained to the wall looked at the priest like he's an idiot, except instead of Edward I see SheaShea. That was a very interesting episode...sorry, getting side tracked. Enjoy!**

Chapter 16: Stephen's Keeper

The next time Stephen woke up he was in some kind of a dark, damp room with his hands chained to a wall. He vaguely remembered a few things from when he had been slipping in and out of consciousness for the past...few hours? Or had it been much longer? He really didn't know, he wasn't keeping track of time. The first thing he remembered was someone shaking him then a fist colliding with his face. He then remembered being shaken again, accept not by a human or anything animate at that. He had been in some sort of cramped space with his hands and feet bound together by a rope, everything around him shaking. He then remembered being pushed towards a slightly familiar house with trees surrounding it. Now, waking up for hopefully a much longer time, he was able to fully absorb his surroundings. It was dark and he could hear water dripping so he was probably in some sort of basement. There was a tiny window facing the west letting in a little light from the clear day, so he guessed that it was probably mid-morning. His hands were bound by chains above his head, but his feet were free to roam around on the half dirt half stone floor. This placed seemed eerily familiar, but not in a good way. It was then that Stephen had realized that he had somehow changed clothes, when had that happened? He was now in a loose white button up shirt, darkly colored and worn jeans, and darkworking boots. No socks though, his captors hadn't probably thought of that or given him the courtesy. Once his vision cleared completely he was able to decipher where he had seen this room before. It was from that nightmare he kept on having almost every night. Oh god...maybe he should have told John about his dream.

_Shit!_

_S_tephen felt his mind starting to go into panic mode, but tried his best to stay calm. If he wanted to find a way to get out of there he would have to stay calm. He looked around the room again and into the hallway as best as he could. He didn't see anyone and hoped to God that he was alone. He looked up to where his hands were bound and saw that the chain was nailed to the wall with a few rusty looking nails. Stephen almost scoffed, whoever had kidnapped him must be rookies or just really stupid. He figured that if he pulled on his chains hard enough that he would be able to pull the nails right out of the wall. He wasn't just some average guy in the strength department, mind you. So he moved over a little and maneuvered himself so that he was facing the wall and started pulling down. He pulled on his chains but the nails didn't budge. So he tried a little harder, dust from the wall were the nails were falling. He pulled harder again, and this time the nails moved. He continued to do this and was actually making good progress until he heard a noise from down the hall. He quickly turned around and pressed his back against the wall, pretending that he hadn't moved at all. After a few moments three guys in what looked like black military-issue gear walked in one at a time. The first one looked to be the strongest. He had tan skin, long black hair, and a tattoo on his arm. The second one looked to be weaker than the first one but he was probably faster. His skin was paler than the first guy and his long hair was two different colors, one side brown and the other side blonde. The last one was probably the runt of the group. If he was alone he probably wouldn't look that intimidating. He was the palest of the three and had short brown hair. The first guy saw that he was awake first and turned towards the second guy and whispered something to him, but Stephen wasn't able to make it out. Wait a minute...these were the same guys that had beaten him up when Paul Heyman found out about his and John's relationship! The third guy left the room, probably making his way upstairs by the thuds that Stephen heard in the distance. The first guy then turned to Stephen and walked over until he was about a foot away from him, crouching down so that he was at eye-level with Stephen.

"My name is Roman Reigns..." His voice was deep, which wasn't very surprising to Stephen. "...the guy behind me is Seth Rollins and the guy that just left is Dean Ambrose."

Stephen wanted to snort at these guys, but he stopped himself from doing so as to avoid conflict. "You're giving me your names, fella? Your a little more humble than most kidnappers."

Roman Reigns glared at him and for a second and Stephen actually thought that the guy was going to hit him. But instead Reigns just stood up at his full height, towering over Stephen.

"We're not _exactly _kidnappers Farrelly, we're hired mercenaries."

This time Stephen scoffed, he could easily guess who hired them. "Let me guess, that twinkie-titted walrus Paul Heyman hired you to return 'stolen property', am I correct?"

For a moment Roman Reigns actually chuckled, like he agreed with Stephen on some parts. "He didn't exactly put it like that but yeah, that's right."

Stephen rolled his eyes and rested his back against the wall, letting out a huff. "That bastard seems to get even more predictable the more insane he gets. You probably know that he's wanted as a criminal by the royal family, right? Do you even know why and what they might do to you if they find out that you're involved?"

Roman Reigns thought about that for a moment before shrugging. "It's not our place to ask. We just do the job and take the money." He was about to turn away when he paused and looked back at Stephen. "Oh I guess I should tell you that Paul Heyman ordered us to not harm you in an extreme way but we're allowed to use some force if necessary. So if I were you I wouldn't try anything funny. Also don't even try to escape, Seth here can out run a horse on his good days so you won't get very far."

And with that Reigns left the room as well, probably to talk to that other guy Dean Ambrose. Seth Rollins still stayed in the room though, probably to make sure Stephen didn't try to escape. Stephen glared at him and the glare was returned.

"You know..." Stephen began. "...I could probably kick your head right off of your shoulders if you gave me the chance. What do you say fella, wanna make a bet?"

Seth Rollins chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll have to pass you up on that one. I'm not as stupid as you might think I am."

Stephen rolled his eyes at Seth, as if saying 'Yeah, sure you are'. Then something occurred to Stephen and he became curious.

"You know...normally mercenaries work by themselves and not in a group, so what's going on with you guys? Are you a threesome or something?"

Seth glared at Stephen before sighing and tightening the ponytail he was sporting. Stephen noticed that the guy's hair was wet, which was odd because it wasn't supposed to rain and this house probably didn't have indoor plumbing.

"Not that it's any of your business but we call ourselves the Shield. Before Paul Heyman hired us the first time we were all independent and frankly pretty new to the business. After Heyman paid us the first time we thought that we all made a pretty good team so we joined together and began calling ourselves the 'Shield against injustice' a while ago."

Stephen looked at Seth Rollins with a raised eyebrow, obviously thinking that the whole justice thing was bullshit. "Shield against injustice? What kind of justice do you think the hell this is?"

Seth sighed, looking away from Stephen and at the tiny window towards the west. "I actually...don't know yet. I mean, if you think about it we're supposed to be thinking that we're returning you to where you rightfully belong but..."

Stephen leaned forward a little, taking new interest. "But what?"

Seth then turned back to Stephen, only he was glaring at him. "Look, I don't give a shit about you or the fat-ass bitch that hired us, but that doesn't mean that I still don't have morals! I'm not very comfortable with the idea of putting...someone like you through all of this bullshit. But I really don't have much of a choice so just don't talk to me about it. Hell don't talk to me at all!"

Stephen was actually taken aback by that. What did Seth Rollins mean by 'someone like him'? Does he mean an innocent victim or...something else? He didn't bother asking, it wasn't like this guy was going to tell him anyways. Then Stephen remembered something from earlier and decided to use it to his advantage.

"You know, you didn't answer me about the whole threesome thing." He said, a clever smirk playing on his lips.

Seth turned back to him and glared at him again. He walked over slowly and raised his foot towards Stephen. At first Stephen thought that Seth Rollins was going to kick him but instead his foot hit the loose nails holding the chain to the wall. "Go fuck yourself."

**Yep, the Shield was hired to kidnap SheaShea. Quite appropriate if you ask me. Now the thing where I was describing the members of Shield is part of my actual opinion of each individual. Frankly I think that Dean Ambrose would be fucked if he didn't have the other two guys behind him. I still can't wait until one of them realizes that they're better than the other two (probably Roman Reigns) and they all stab each other in the back. I know Reigns will do just fine on his own, Rollins would probably do OK, but Ambrose would just end up being another Dolph Ziggler case. I can't help but feel that I was sort of sympathizing with Shield during this chapter but once you find out the full predicament you'll understand why Seth Rollins is a little iffy about their circumstances. I have less than an hour until I go to my friend Stephanie's so I guess I should probably say this straight out. This will probably be the last time I'm able to update for a while or until the end of summer vacation. I would just like to thank you all for your support and to wish you all a happy summer and I wish the most PPVs as I can. See you all sometime in the future and remember, reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104**_


	17. Shocking Discoveries

**HELLO MY LITTLE KITTENS! Well, I'm at my dad's house for a little while so now I can work on this. It's funny because while I was away I was like "URG I NEED TO TYPE MOAR" but then when I sit down in front of the laptop I was like "YouTube, Tumblr, Google, gifs, procrastination" but I'm getting off of my bum and starting this! Lately I've been like a combination of meh and restlessness. I even thought up several plots to different fics I could do then mashed them up together thinking that it would make a great movie. I just might do it after I finish Shinderella...come to think of it this is one of my longest fics I've written yet. I've been thinking about my favorite guys having epic battles that involve guns. In other words my mind is feeling very violent right now. THAT and I've been listening to pretty violent music lately so that might be it. Oh good God I'm rambling! Enjoy! **

Chapter 17: Shocking Discoveries

_John nodded and quickly kissed Stephen's forehead before leaving the room. It was still dark out so it seemed like John was the only one wandering around the palace hallways. For a moment he paused by one of the large windows, like the one he had talked to Booker T next to before he went looking for Stephen, looking outside quickly and thinking. It was obvious now that Stephen's condition wasn't brought on by stress. Stephen may claim that it was just because he ate too much but lately he had been eating twice his fill. John didn't question him about it before but now he couldn't help but be a little suspicious. He shook his head, his tired mind trying to focus on the task at hand. He dragged himself away from the window and began walking down the hall. He turned a corner but collided with something. He stumbled a little and looked up to possibly see what he had bumped in to but instead he was met with a fist to his face, knocking him down to the floor. When his vision cleared he saw a pair of black military-issue boots walking down the hallway towards his and Stephen's room. He tried to pick himself up off of the floor but a sharp pain went through his back making him collapse again. He tried to push himself up again, this time succeeding but barely. When he stood up fully he felt himself beginning to fall again and quickly began supporting himself on the wall. He looked back down the hallway, his vision still a little blurry. Whoever had attacked him was gone from his vision, but that didn't mean that they weren't still in the palace. If you hadn't lived in the palace for a while you would have a hard time finding your way out. So he trudged down the hall to the best of his ability, limping and trying his best not to cry out in pain in case his assailant was nearby. He made it halfway down the hall before he heard a loud noise come from the direction of his and Stephen's room. Then he remembered about what Paul Heyman had said...about taking Stephen back by force if they didn't do it willingly. With that realization he broke into an all out sprint, ignoring the pain and dizziness beginning to probe his mind. By the time he made it to their room black spots had begun to form in his vision, but he was still able to see that their door was open. Before he passed out he saw that their window was broken and Stephen was no where to be seen._

* * *

John scanned the hills with his eyes one more time before patting Checkmate's neck and heading off back to the palace. When he had discovered that someone had taken Stephen he had alerted practically everyone in the palace with his screaming. If you had looked at him during that time you would have thought that he was insane. Which is slightly true seeing how he was going into hysterics. The servants had tried to calm him down but he wouldn't have anything of it so after an hour of struggle they were finally able to sedate him. They hadn't completely knocked him out but after the drugs took affect he couldn't do more than just sit there and try to think for a good long while. Around noon time when his head was completely back on his shoulders he ordered a search party throughout the entire town and about a mile around. Instead of sitting on his ass and twiddling his thumbs he actually joined the search and went to the places he and Stephen knew about. He figured that if Stephen was somehow able to escape his captors but wasn't able to find his way back to the palace he would go to those places. John even went as far to go to Stephen's old house to possibly see if Heyman was still hiding there. Everything was just the way they left it except for a few things that may have belonged to Paul Heyman but other than that it was empty. There wasn't even clue as to where the bastard would have gone! He knew that he shouldn't be in places like this alone with the threat of his life hanging over him but at the moment he didn't really care. It was almost evening and he didn't want to have Stephen spend the night with whoever took them for fear that they might hurt him more than he could handle. Everyone in the scouting party, which mainly involved the town police force, all agreed to meet up at the palace around this time to see what they had found and possibly pinpoint where Stephen _might _be being held.

He had been on the grassy hill where he and Stephen would meet in secret, partially hoping that if he waited long enough he would see Stephen coming up the hill. Of course, that was merely a pipe dream that just wouldn't come true no matter how hard he wished it would. He was a grown man, so of course he had to accept the facts. He didn't bother with riding through the town as to avoid all the commotion and rode around the outer perimeter of it. He even passed the inn where he had taken Stephen to. He barely noticed it though, his mind was already preoccupied. It took him about 15 minutes to get to the palace and quickly went to the stables. There were a few horses already in the stables which meant that a few of the officers were already back. He put Checkmate back in his stable, patting his head before quickly making his way to the main corridor of the palace. He found it slightly ironic...that was the very place Paul Heyman had sworn revenge. He shouldn't be paranoid about it but Heyman had been with a witch and she could have put something there to monitor them...like a magical fly or something. That thought almost made him want to smack himself. Inside the corridor were several men clad in uniforms around a large table set up. It had bunch of superficial papers on it that in reality was just excess. But of course they just have to right down _every little useless fact _which really is no different than school! John didn't have much time to look around when one of the officers walked up to him.

"Your highness, we have a lead in the investigation and we...figured that you should see them for yourself."

John found the officers choice of words odd, but followed him anyways. He was lead to one of the hallways and saw several other officers talking to two people he couldn't make out. However John didn't need to see them to see who they were. Well...at least he could tell from one of them.

"I told you before only the prince can read it! If one of you does god knows what that bastard will do to Stephen!"

That good sir, was the voice of a certain petite and rather insane woman he knew. It was AJ! She sounded distressed, but also like she would kill one of these guys at any moment. John pushed through the other men and saw AJ being held back by Dolph, thrashing against his grip with a folded up piece of paper in her left hand. She looked as if she had been crying before she came here, or at least before John saw her. But judging from the dried streaks on her face that had been a while ago. When she saw John she stopped thrashing, staring at him with wide eyes before running out of Dolph's grip and over to John. She looked him in the eye with a very pissed off expression before slapping him, and boy did it sting. The officers made a move to restrain AJ, but John raised his hand signaling for them to stay where they were. They reluctantly obeyed, but still prepared themselves to grab someone.

"How could you be so stupid as to let this happen to Stephen! Do you not care at all about his condition?" AJ screamed at John, waving the paper in his face.

John waited a few moments after she yelled at him before responding as calm as he could at the moment. "Look, I'm just as upset about this as you are, maybe even more. But I was _jumped_ so I couldn't _fucking _get to him in time! I know his condition is serious so that's why I'm-"

"You're damn right it's serious!" AJ said, cutting him off. "It's bad enough he probably has fucking anxiety from everything but now...he has to..."

AJ trailed off when she saw the confused look on John's face. What was there not to be confused about? Didn't he already...? AJ gasped in realization, her grip on the paper becoming tighter. "You...you don't know about it?"

"Know about it? Yeah I know about his anxiety but you're making it sound like there's something else..."

AJ stared at him with wide eyes before shoving the piece of paper at him. John took it out of her hands and unfolded it, seeing that it was a letter from Paul Heyman. He read it over a bit before his face went white and his body became tense. He stood there in shock for several minutes before he dropped the letter and became weak in the knees. He stumbled a little bit but an officer ran forward and helped him stay on his own two feet. John then looked back up at AJ, eyes wide from shock and they even had a little hurt in them.

"Is this..." He gulped, his mouth suddenly going dry. "...do you know for sure?"

AJ nodded, knowing the meaning behind those words. "Yes John, I know. Stephen's fairy godmother...Kaitlyn I think it was, told me when I received the letter. It was given to me by a messenger who called himself Seth Rollins. Though I don't know why he would give his name away so carelessly, unless Paul Heyman wanted us to find them."

John nodded, too shocked by receiving this kind of news in a very unorthodox way. Paul Heyman would pay for what he had done...for taking Stephen away by force knowing that it could harm their...John turned and pushed past the officers, determined to clime onto his horse and search until he collapsed.

"Wait!"

John stopped in his tracks, looking back behind him at AJ. She hesitated at the look he was sporting, but shook it off. "I know where he is and I can take you halfway!"

John completely turned around and stared at AJ for a few moments before gesturing behind him. "Well what are you waiting for let's go!"

**Yeah kind of a cliffy but what can I do? Is it just me or have I been leaving chapters off on cliffhangers A LOT lately? Sure it makes the story more interesting but it's _so _painful! Now you must be wondering what was in the letter to make Johnny-boy react like that and well...I'm not telling. I _will _tell you later however, in the epilogue (was that a spoiler)? But if you can figure it out I would advise you to not give it away in a review but if you think you figured it out you can say in your review but message me to see if you're right. Well, I hope to see you again soon but that probably won' happen seeing how I'll be heading up to Utica in a few weeks to visit my older sister and her husband. I won't be able to update from probably 3-4 weeks, maybe longer. Again I will miss you guys so much and reviews are love!**

**Love and yaoi**

_**~ladyknights104 **_


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